..... when it comes to many foreign players playing in the CC and virtual no English players playing in the domestic FC competitions of other Test playing nations, RH

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2023/01/12/steve-smith-lines-potential-pre-ashes-stint-sussex/

Steve Smith lines up potential pre-Ashes stint with Sussex
Smith has played in English domestic cricket before and this would be handy preparation before the five-Test series, which starts in June

By
Will Macpherson
13 January 2023 • 4:49pm
Steve Smith of Australia speaks to the media during day five of the Third Test match in the series between Australia and South Africa at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 08, 2023 in Sydney, Australia
Smith could use the County Championship to prepare for this summer's Ashes CREDIT: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Sussex are confident of securing the signature of Steve Smith, thus handing the Australian legend three matches of first-class preparation before his tilt at the 2023 Ashes......

He appears likely to play Sussex’s three Championship games in May, against Worcestershire, Leicestershire, and Glamorgan, who will have Marnus Labuschagne in their ranks. Other non-IPL Australians are pursuing county gigs, although some might wait until after the tour of India to finalise their plans.......

How England and their skipper Ben Stokes feel about counties giving tailor-made preparation to their Ashes rivals remains to be seen. Stokes played a straight bat when asked last month, saying: “I think it’s one of those where you’d probably prefer them not to get any game time out here before the Ashes. At the same time, it is what it is.”....

Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director, said his main complaint was that opportunities for English players in first-class cricket abroad are not as readily available as they are for overseas players in county cricket.......

“Specifically with the Ashes: yeah, you could say it helps him prep and that could be a disadvantage to England. I don’t spend too much time thinking about that. We just try to control what we can do. I think, and I’m sure that Brendon and Ben would be the same, if we play to potential we know we are a match for anyone and can beat anyone, the way we are playing our cricket. We will focus on that.

“At times it’s disappointing that our players aren’t afforded the same opportunities overseas. I’d love to get more of our players in first-class cricket overseas. It’s notoriously difficult. It’s not particularly easy in Australia, can’t really do it in India, we’ve done it at times before in Sri Lanka. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it would be nice if our players could sample a bit of that in red-ball cricket. It’s not easy, though.”