Test Cricket In Danger Of Disappearing
The 5 day Test cricket schedule has become a complete farce and the World Test Championship needs to be relooked at urgently. Firstly how can 2 Tests be considered a series as at worst it should be a minimum best of 3. If Australia, India or England play against each other it is always 5 test matches. Against the stronger teams they will play 3 tests just in case they lose won and if it was a two test series would risk a drawn series. This is too high a risk for the top 3 and why this format is so skewed in their favor. No wonder 5 day test cricket is on the slide in most countries around the world.
The sport of cricket has changed over the last couple of decades with the pinnacle of cricket being Test cricket now under severe pressure. The sad reality is the one day 50 over test matches and the T20's are being prioritized over test matches.
To give you an example of how bad things are South Africa who are the current World Test Cricket Champions do not have one home Test match until October next year. This would be a gap of 18 months of not hosting a 5 day test match and this is all down to the financials. The worrying question is how many countries will be playing 5 day Test Cricket in 10 or 20years time? My guess is not all the countries we see playing now as some will fall away as they can no longer afford this as their revenue has been shrunk on purpose by the top 3 cricket nations.
Just to show you how imbalanced the World Test Championship is we should look at the format and this is where the problem lies. This is all about who has the most revenue and is very short sighted long term.
The WTC is played over a 2 year cycle with each cricket nation playing 3 home and away test series of between 2 and 5 matches. 12 points for a win ,6 for a tie (has happened) and 4 for a draw. The points are then calculated as a percentage vs the number of matches played. The problem is the top 3 wealthy cricket nations being India, Australia and England play each other regularly and it is always the maximum of 5 test matches and never 2 or 3 like all the other nations do. This format was voted on a few years ago and you guessed it the nations who hold the most votes are the same top 3 cricket nations.
During the 2023-2027 period the SA cricket team will play 28 tests which is 15 less than England, 12 fewer than Australia and 10 less than India. These are rather significant numbers and the likes of New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka are in the same boat as SA with far less 5 day Test cricket being played. If we end up with only 3 Test Nations playing Test cricket then the fault lies firmly with the top 3 because they have created this. This was all about keeping and protecting their revenue.
Ever since I was a young lad I can recall SA always had a Boxing day test in Durban and a New Years Test in Cape Town versus a touring team. These matches were always sold out over the festive period and this year there are none. If you are growing the sport of Test cricket how can you if there is no cricket on show?
The financials is the problem as hosting a 5 day Test match series is very expensive as just a 3 match series would take 3-4 weeks to complete. The host nation pays for all the expenses of hosting that team from flights, hotels and entertainment plus any medical requirements. The chances are the host nation will be lucky to break even and possibly will lose money unless they have decent tv endorsements.
If we compare that to a touring team playing a one day cricket series of 5 matches and 5 T20 matches the time spent in the country is roughly the same but each venue is generally sold out. Television companies tend to pay more for the shorter format as the demand internationally is far higher and the rights to broadcast are more profitable. The quicker format matches are where the money is and this is now taking away from Test cricket.
I am very much old school when it comes to cricket and enjoy a good 5 day Test series. Earlier this year we had England battling at home versus India and the series swung one way and then the other. That is the pinnacle of cricket where the best test themselves on a wicket that slowly deteriorates as the match progresses. This you cannot experience in a 50 or 20 over match and if Test cricket takes a back seat we have lost something special. I enjoy my sport and with cricket I enjoy all formats with 5 day Test cricket being the most enjoyable and needs to be regarded as the most important for the game of cricket.
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Are you sure? Have you seen the recent England vs India series?
https://peakd.com/hive-138302/@azircon/and-they-say-test-cricket-is-dead
I grew up in a place in the world which lives and breathes cricket. No where in the world more cricket is ever played:)
So I say my views can be biased. But do look up this series before you make the claim.
Yes if you see it from any other country not in the big 3 being India, England and Australia. They each play each other in a 5 test series and other countries either get a two or three match test series only. SA has no home test matches for 18 months which is not a good sign for the future.
I agree the England India series was fantastic, but now think if that was only a two or three match series it would not have created so much interest and excitement. Test cricket needs to change their format of how matches are planned as the balance is not right. I think the 5 day test matches are in jeopardy and the ICC should be helping with funding games even if the series is not profitable.
I love my cricket and played the sport in SA and England and will watch any game live or on tv. Having no test cricket at home for 18 months is just so wrong and they will kill the interest here.
I understand the problem. I have played cricket through college in India. I was a leg spin googley bowler and number 7/8 batsman. This was before IPL, otherwise probably managed to play a small club team if it was today :)
Interesting as I was also a leg spin bowler with a top spinner/flipper. For some reason I could not perfect the googly and spent hours practicing. I played in the intercity league in Durban which we won and played against some of the West Indies players who toured in 1986 as part of the rebel tour and stayed behind. We had Collis King and Hartley Alleyne in our league along with Malcolm Marshall who was more into coaching then. Who knows how we would fair today and maybe you just needed a break or have been spotted for your chance.
Back then you can only play for the state team and then national team. With a near billion people even back then you not only have to be very good but also very lucky. I was neither.
Plus I also had all kinds of injuries that didn’t help.
These days there are 15 IPL teams plus many other secondary leagues that pay more than the national team back in our days. Opportunities in India are endless today.
Googly it’s basically just the ability to turn the wrist backwards. Some people can’t do it because how their wrist bones are. There is nothing you can do about it in that case.
Clearly you must remember Anil Kumble, who could even turn the regular leg break most of the times, but still was the highest wicket taker for India during his time!
So turn is not everything clearly. He was deadly fast and accurate and with insane bounce.
I do like to see these very young cricketers coming through in India today showing there is opportunities if you are good enough. Kumble was brilliant and he did bowl much faster than the average spinner plus he was very accurate which made him a threat on any type of pitch. When I played in the UK what I found strange was the wickets early in the season offered very little spin and was very different to SA pitches which use different grass. It was fantastic to experience and play on different pitches. Injuries do not help especially if it affected your bowling action.
You can look it up. That is the condition I developed. I still have it :) That was the end of my career.
That is what bowling googly can do to you. Mind you back in those days lot of biomechanics and kinesiology was not available to common people. Today I probably would have corrected my action quickly.
No harm done :) hindsight 50-50.
Just reading up about this and that is a serious injury and no wonder you had to stop playing. Yes these days they have the medical information and this possibly could have been prevented if treated early enough. Do you have permanent nerve damage now? Yes hindsight which does not help after it has happened. Good to know and thanks for sharing as this I find interesting.
Yes I did have permanent nerve damage and not just there at various other places too which I have gathered later.
All good fun :)
I have shared my life widely at hive :)
https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@azircon/bionic-oilman
Wow I did not know that is some hectic and serious stuff you have been through. I had to stop becoming a professional rugby referee due to my prolapsed disc. I went in for key hole surgery on my knee and came out of hospital bruised with a back injury. I was medically boarded from work plus my future career as a professional referee had now also been taken away. I was being fast tracked by England Rugby being one of 3 referees on their program. Life sucks and I feel for you having to deal with this and has the operation helped you?
Yes. I am fine now.
Well that is good news then.