Former England stars Matt Prior and Graeme Swann have criticised age-group cricket for being too expensive.
Prior, who played 79 Tests for England, believes the current system is a "money-making exercise" for counties and is preventing "all the kids whose parents can't afford it" from progressing.
"It seems to be a different picture across the country but there is a widespread practice of charging extortionate amounts," he told The Times .
"I have two children in the Sussex pathway — it costs nearly £1,000 per season per child. You get a 10 per cent discount for a sibling; what message is that sending?
"This is a money-making exercise, it is not about identifying the most talented kids and it’s ruling out all the kids whose parents can’t afford it.
"There are 750 kids on the Sussex pathway but it’s not necessarily the 750 most talented kids, it’s the ones who can afford it."
Ex-England spinner Swann, who played 60 Tests between 2008 and 2013, also slammed the system for "pricing young talent out".
Responding to a tweet from a supporter who outlined the fees he had to pay for his son to attend county age-group trials, Swann wrote: "wtf????? Pricing young talent out of a youth system is atrocious.
"If this happens at your county make as much noise as you can. I am praying this isn’t the case at @TrentBridge or @NorthantsCCC??? If it is across the board then @ECB_cricket fix this NOW!"
Former England batter Rob Key has also called for age-group cricket to be made free, telling Sky Sports : "If The Hundred makes money it should go back into county cricket and fund youth cricket.
"All county age-group cricket should be free. We talk about making cricket a game for everyone, how about we don't price half of the people out of the market."
