Andrew Flintoff, Chris Gayle and Andrew Symonds all have different reasons for forsaking Test cricket. However, the common denominator is money.
I have just returned from a quick trip to India and my worst fears have been realised.
Test Cricket in the sub continent is dead and the haste to bury it is both depressing and alarming. India has been utterly and irrevocably seduced by Twenty/20 and the love affair is no one night fling.
Cricket administrators, including Cricket Australia, seem powerless to stem the tide.
The TV rights for the Champions League Twenty/20 were in excess of 1 billion dollars and all participating boards will share in revenues between 8 and 15 million dollars a year for the duration of the contract.
The rush to sign overseas stars by Australian State sides all points to Twenty/20 being a bigger part of the Australian cricketing landscape.
The ECB is pushing ahead with its own Super Pro Twenty/20. Television Broadcasters are demanding Twenty/20 be played in prime time television.
This is the major reason for the push for Day/Night cricket.
These sentiments are not the ravings of a disillusioned cricket traditionalist. It is the lament of a realist seeing the basic fabric of the game being ripped apart by administrators who have been wined and dined too often.
The MCC seems the lone voice of reason and has once again implored administrators to organise a Test Championship. This was high on the agenda of Cricket Australia until it was jettisioned by the BCCI and consigned to cricket’s back burner.
The current Ashes series in England is sold out and it may well be the last time that Test Cricket evokes such interest.
Andrew Flintoff stated this week he is retiring from Test Cricket as his body cannot take the strain anymore. This was the same refrain from Adam Gilchrist two years ago.
They have both espoused the view that Test Cricket is the ultimate form of the game for them. Yet, the alacrity with which they have abandoned Test cricket leads me to label them as hypocrites.
I expect to see these players playing all year around in the various Twenty/20 leagues in India, Australia, South Africa and England.
The sad part is that these players are not exactly penurious.
There is concern among former cricketers like Ian Chappell and lately, Sunil Gavaskar, that administrators need to strike the right balance. Twenty/20 appeals to the vast majority of Indians who see the abbreviated form as a neat fit with their pressured lives.
The Indians are passionate about their cricket and it dominates their psyche.
Test Cricket on the subcontinent has to be promoted as relevant in an ever-changing world. Midweek Tests will not work.
Day/Night Cricket in India is an absolute imperative if Test Cricket is to survive.
The quality of the competition is also paramount. The viewers will not watch Bangladesh or the West Indies. The Championship of Test Cricket limited to the top six countries will appeal.
The administrators have a choice. Be innovative and change. Or just accept the money and lose the tradition. If this were to happen, it would be an insult to the memory of those that went before.
Dave1
Guest
looks like 1998/99 Kolkata: had the biggest test crowds of all time http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/429333.html ".......However, there have almost certainly been larger crowds, especially at Eden Gardens in Kolkata: after the stadium was rebuilt the capacity there was reputedly 100,000, and that figure is claimed (but no audited figures have been produced) for five one-day internationals (including the 1995-96 World Cup semi-final between India and Sri Lanka), and the first four days of a Test against Pakistan in 1998-99........."
Dave
Guest
looks like money is being spent on facilities http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25995756-5001505,00.html ........Hughes's coach Neil D'Costa has been lured to India to help out at the newly built academy. Cricket's coffers are running over in this country and D'Costa raves about the facilities and future. He is right. The disturbing thing for every other cricket nation is that Indian Premier League franchises and cashed-up state cricket bodies are building these state-of-the-art centres right across India and populating them with bright-eyed young talent. There's a suggestion that Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence is looking a little modest -- if not third world -- by comparison.....
Dave
Guest
the crowds for Sri Lanka v New Zealand look alright
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
To be fair the BCCI has recently announced(last year) a multi million dollar upgrade of stadiums under its purview.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Dave,this was the first time in 12 years and Chennai has long being regarded as the most knowledgeable and traditional Test loving crowds. Chennai is altogether more measured and leisurely compared to Delhi and Mumbai.
Dave
Guest
You’d think the stadiums owned by the BCCI, with all the wealth the BCCI, has could be upgraded. Also, for how long are the IPL franchises going to put up with inadequate facilities, considering the money that can be made from memberships and corporate boxes.
Dave
Guest
It looks like the series in1998/99 was pretty big as well http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/410452.html
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Andy,why wait till it is too late to reverse it. Ticket prices are pretty low compared to the $50 plus in Australia. You can still buy an outer ticket for $10 or less in some grounds. Sometimes you have to shock the administrators out of their apathy.
AndyS
Guest
So drop the ticket prices. My point is that everyone seems to be taking an extremist view - if interest in T20 is higher than Test, then Test is doomed to extinction. It is not true, any more than the same statements were true when 50 over cricket began. If however television and attendance figures drop to the point where it isn't sustainable, then there is a problem. But we are not there yet, and I'm not convinced that we are even that close. We are merely in the process of finding out what the new balance is between the various versions.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Andy,it is just not my observation but also that of the MCC,Ian Chappell,Sunny Gavaskar and other knowledgeable commentatators. The interest in india is high but a lot less than Twenty/20. There may be more people in India interested in Test Cricket but when you consider the population of 1.2 billion,I suspect the majority would favour Twenty/20. Over 60 % of India's population is between 12 and 35 years old. So it is a largely young and increasingly literate population. They expect more and will not tolerate the antiquated facilities of the current stadia. The ICL had to build two purpose built stadium with modern facilities and these stadia were filled more often than not. The main thrust of my argument is that crowds at Indian Stadiums will increse if the facilities are better. Also I have made the point that Twenty/20 has the potential to further speed up Test Cricket. You will be aware that scoring rates in Test Cricket improved with ODI's. Australia set the bench mark with almost 4 runs an over. Most teams these days aim for 3.5 runs an over. Far from decrying Twenty/20 I am asking for a balance. The last thing you want is TV cameras panning to vast empty spaces. Give me a full stadium anyday.
AndyS
Guest
Vinay, mine was a general observation rather than specific to Chandra's post. But surely if the TV interest is still high, the issue is moot - spectator revenues are only a small part of the revenue package, even here where interest is supposedly still healthy. It would be nice to get lots of spectators to the ground as well, but their absence is a long way from "Test Cricket in the sub continent is dead".
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Dave The stadiums like Mohali,Eden Gardens,Brabourne and Chinaswamy are nominally owned by the State Cricket Associations. But you can say effectively owned by the BCCI as the State Associations are members of the BCCI. These stadiums are off limits to leagues like the ICL . There are other first class grounds that are owned by State Governments or National bodies like the Railways and the Army also controls large tracts of land where there are stadiums. Green Park,in Kanpur is owned by the UP Government(state govt) The Sports authority of India also owns some stadia.
Brett McKay
Guest
Dave, I think the state/provincial associations own the stadiums..
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Jonno- I may not like Twenty/20 but how else do you sustain the revenue stream? How do we support the sheffield Shield and the Ranji Trophy that are played in empty Stadiums.? The current emerging Players contest in Queensland? How do we fund the underage teams and women's cricket and blind cricket. There has to be a balance and less seems to be more. But with the advent of the SPL and the proposed American League I dont think the administrators get it. Show me a bureacrat and I will show you a person who doesn't really have to work for a living. I know this is an outrageous statement and there are good bureaucrats. I am simply expressing my exasperation at some administrators.
Dave
Guest
Who owns the stadiums in India? Is it the BCCI?
jonno
Guest
The IPL is the first nail in the coffin of TEST cricket.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
AndyS, the point Chandra was making was that Test Cricket still holds interest for Indians but they are loath to go to the stadiums because of the amenities. He is right in that the interest on TV is still high. Administrators have no choice but to make it relevant and attractive for spectators in India. The sheer numbers and the love for the game in India make it imperative that Test Cricket is relevant in India. Apart from the Ashes the current rivalry between India and Australia augurs well for the future.
AndyS
Guest
Well, I'll say this, the last two Test matches have had more drama and interest than the last four one day series and all the T20 cricket I have ever watched all put together. If it is such an ordeal for the West Indies or India to play it, then perhaps they should just be stripped of Test status. Then they can focus all they like on the simple version.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Fred-I love my Test Cricket but I struggle to make the effort to get to the ground as a spectator. I use my son's guest pass to occassionally go to the Members but have you noticed the diehards lining up from 4AM? Some are in wheelchairs and crutches. Is this any way to treat our senior citizens? Why dont they open the gates at 7AM instead of 8AM. An extra hours pay for two or three attendants is not much. Thankfully the Press box at the SCG is somfortable and state of the art. It is time the spectators were given a fair go. If you are driving in it is a 12 hour day getting in and out for a Test Match.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Hi Chandra Surely some of the millions generated by the BCCI can be spent on providing decent toilets. The point I am making is that the Indian spectator deserves better. If i had to queue up like the average spectatator I would never go to a stadium. Fortunately the last time I watched in Mumbai I was a guest of one of the corporates. Chandra we both agree that the facilities are basic. If the facilities were better I am sure more would go. Chandra,if you are correct that the interest in Test Cricket on TV is high that is encouraging. Now if the officials can make the ground as comfortable as your lounge.