It may feel a little odd to consider such a debate halfway through sold out back-to-back Ashes series, but there is a far larger problem at hand.
The vast majority of Test cricket is not the Ashes, and many fixtures are played out with dwindling interest across the world.
Test cricket suffers on two levels in this modern age of fast food entertainment.
For starters, a sport that can take five days to produce a drawn result – a concept that the vast majority of the world cannot understand – is always going to have reduced appeal given the vast array of instant result options on the average satellite dish.
Secondly, cricket suffers in an even worse way from the same problem as rugby – that it is a closed shop with few established nations.
There are of course, sports such as AFL that thrive because of their uniqueness and singularity. The AFL, however, does not purport itself as a global game.
This is fine as long as the established nations maintain their standards and interest. But as has been obvious with the West Indies, the access to other sports on television and the money involved has had a negative effect and diluted interest.
While I don’t live in Australia, it is interesting from a foreigner’s perspective to see a decline in cricket and union standards at the same time as football has surged in popularity within the country.
I’m an unashamed purist, even a snob, when it comes to Test cricket. I love it above all else and have little time for ODIs, which I find formulaic, dull, predictable and often one-sided.
I do, however, regularly watch T20 for its unabashed fun and freshness. I love both good wine and cold beer in the same way – they’re completely different but hit the same spot for me.
What is clear is that the short formats of the game are funding the long format. While England and Australia can boast regular large Test crowds, no other nation – not even India – can on a regular basis say this for all opposition.
There is clearly a huge appetite for the shorter formats and it would be mad not to embrace them, but much of the blame must reside with the adminstrators of the Test game.
While we all love the Ashes and also look forward to South Africa and India touring, the problem is that the level of interest outside the core nations is waning. So, it seems, is the talent pool.
While T20 has born out of new shots and increased bowling variations and possibly sharpened fielding, for me the general quality of Test match cricket has vastly fallen away at the same time.
In the past few years alone we have lost Gayle, Hayden, Ponting, Langer, Martin, Hussey, Gilchrist, Lee, McGrath, Warne, Gillespie, Dravid, Sehwag, Kumble, Murali, Jayasuriya, Ambrose, Walsh, Lara, Flintoff, Donald, Pollock, Inzamam, Akhtar and Laxman from Test cricket.
Tendulkar and Kallis are soon to follow.
While some fantastic genuine Test players such as Clarke, J Anderson, Amla, G Smith, Kohli, Pietersen, Cook, Sangakkara, Morkel, Zaheer and Steyn have certainly emerged, the skill set required for Test cricket looks to be on the slide.
Only the South African and England attacks right now could argue to have bowlers of any real compare to what was around a few years ago.
Far fewer batsmen appear to have the ability to bat through an entire day despite the attacks being generally weaker and bowling on pitches with often less demons than yesteryear.
Most Test teams appear to be heading the wrong way in both disciplines.
It is hard to imagine more and more batsmen doing what Tendulkar did in quitting limited overs cricket to prolong their Test careers. The pattern will be to follow the Chris Gayle model and become a T20 gun for hire instead.
There are rumours that Kevin Pietersen could do just that after this next Ashes series.
It could of course simply be part of a cycle, but there does appear to be a link between the growth of the short format and the wane of Test quality.
It could also simply be that the numbers of youngsters sticking with cricket is falling. It is far far easier to earn a living at a plethora of other sports than reaching the pinnacle of cricket, which you have to if you want to be well-rewarded financially.
Money talks, as in all walks of life.
Longer term, those implications are a worry for the standard of all forms of cricket. Deficiencies in a player’s game show up far more obviously in Test cricket. T20 has not even been around long enough to be able to remotely compare standards.
Like it or not, much of the power in the game resides with India. They have the biggest TV numbers, the IPL and the biggest say.
One does not get the impression that the BCCI is in any way prioritising Test cricket.They may ask why they should.
If India chooses to move its focus further away from Test cricket then the Ashes could in time be seen by the rest of the world as a quaint little custom between the two protagonists.
Much of the problem with the depth in Test cricket resides with the smaller Test nations. Standards have dropped in New Zealand, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, the latter two as part of bigger social and political problems.
Bangladesh have not been able to move forwards for similar reasons, while Sri Lanka has a huge focus on the shorter formats in which they excel.
But for all the reasoning and rationale, it simply is not cost-effective for these nations to pour money that they don’t have in to Test cricket.
Test cricket could remain as almost a closed shop between SA, Australia, India and England, where the four big nations simply play each other ad nauseum. But anyone who can remember Wasim and Waqar, Ambrose, Walsh and Lara will hark for an era were there was strength in depth around the world.
While the spectre of no Test cricket may seem a far off notion, one really must wonder where it will be in 10 or 20 years’ time.
Some sports do drop away – boxing, for example, has been largely supplanted by MMA.
The heavyweight championship of the world used to be almost the pinnacle of sport. Now, most would struggle to name another heavyweight outside of the Klitschko brothers. It can happen.
For Australia and England, there seems little to worry about right now. Their grounds are regularly full, but if there is little variety and quality of opposition to play against then the interest will surely dwindle. Sports thrive on competition.
What Test cricket can do to help itself is modernise. Another Roarer discussed the prospect of flood lit Tests recently and it is a suggestion with huge merit.
The ending of the the fifth Test at The Oval was a prime example of how out of step Test cricket is with modern times.
Everyone wanted to see the climax of a thrilling end to a game (albeit a dead rubber) only to be thwarted by the umpires taking the players off the field.
It should be added that the umpires were not at fault – it was the antiquated rules that they were obliged to follow.
Playing for a draw among bad light as the fifth day draws to a close is the essence of Test cricket, but the Test arena needs to adapt if it is to survive.
A simple way to generate interest is for more of the sessions to be available to people when they are not at work. Television audiences would also benefit greatly, and that is where the gravy train mainly passes through.
Of the 15 sessions of a Test match, only six are offered during a period that the people in that country are not at work – the weekend – unless there is a public holiday.
How can that compete against finishing work and heading down to the ground, or switching on the TV in the evening for the second innings of an ODI or an entire T20 match?
The simple fact is that purists such as myself are crying out for the restoration of something to its former glory that simply isn’t feasible in this day and age in its current state.
ODIs and T20s are subsidising the vast majority of cricket, so it is not for them to take a lesser role. It is for the associations to find a way to haul Test cricket back up by its bootstraps if they wish to.
I used a comparison to boxing earlier. When the heavyweight division fell away, everyone said it didn’t matter – the middleweight division was strong and there were great welter and lightweights.
Now, once Mayweather and Pacquiao have retired, there doesn’t really look to be anyone left for a wider audience whatsoever.
Using that analogy, should the First Class form of cricket fall by the wayside entirely then the shorter game may well find itself next.
It could be a freight train that proves very hard to stop.
Amar
Guest
Canada had a great opportunity to become a Test Nation in the 1950's. That is why "The Imperial Cricket Conference" arranged all those tours to the UK and made the Canadians play First-Class games. Maybe then Canada were good enough to compete with New Zealand then? The problem then was everyone wanted to host the English, that was the only revenue generator. The English would never tour Canada as it would collide with the English summer, and thats were Canada lost out on test status. If Canada had become a Test nation then, USA might have tried to follow because of the rivalry, and then you have Kenya who blew it up post 2003. Even now Australia invites RSA to play the Boxing day and New years Tests. RSA has always excepted the invitation, however Australia nerve tour RSA for Boxing/ New years test even if they are invited. The India/ Pakistan series must restart, Tests should be tried out under lights and coloured cloths. The format must be played as a multi nation Knockout format at times like Asia cup Ind/ pak/ sri/Bang African-RSA/Zim---Kenya??? Euro- American-- Eng/ Ire/WI/Canada Euro- Oceania Aus/Nzl/Eng/Ire This is how small teams can be accommodated with the larger fish And the world championship were top 4 teams play
SVB
Guest
Test cricket is actually on the wane. Australia and England are the only countries that seem to really care about it. Maybe they should play the Ashes every year lol.
Johnno
Guest
Other thing is Steve Jonny Boy Jnr, has no evidence to back up his claim T20 or ODI's are on the wane with fans. Does he have crowd numbers, global TV ratings or internet stream numbers, no he doesn't. And he has no Test cricket stats either, a silly comment by Jonny Boy Jnr. And as for saying ODI and T20 has no contest between bat and ball. Another stupid comment. Has he ever heard of test cricket road pitched being prepared with 1500 runs per test match being scored, and road pitches and scores like 4/600 dec, or 5/550 in Test cricket. Seems not. Adelaide oval, India/Pakistan/Sri Lanka/West Indies, have all dished up some roads over the years, as has been on English pitches, and down at Bellrieve at Honart, and the MCG. And also the ASHES GABBA test in 2010/111, was as big a test cricket road as you could get. So silly Johnny Boy your comment.
JimmyB
Guest
+1
Steven McBain
Roar Guru
Jonny Boy, I'm sorry you didn't like the article. The great thing about the Roar is there are so many writers, you can simply choose to ignore my ones in future. What I don't understand however is why you write the debate off as merely 'stupid'? Hopefully you can again enlighten all of us in your own eloquent and indomitable style. Whilst the quality of the article is debatable in itself as it is simply my own amateur musings, the fact remains that there are 100 odd comments discussing the matter written by readers who in many cases know far more about the topic than I do and have given the issue possibly longer consideration. Surely that suggests that there is a real issue at hand that merits a debate. I'm sorry to have caused you such offense but I'd really like ot know a bit more as to understand why my article should be classed as 'stupid'? Cheers in advance, Steve
ChrisUK
Guest
Quite.
ChrisUK
Guest
Utter and total rubbish. Irish players can only qualify for England in the same way that any other player can qualify for England - by serving a qualification period (of 7 years by the way - compare and contrast to Australia), and by getting a passport. Rankin is the exception because he is and always was qualified to play for England by didn't of being from Northern Ireland.
ChrisUK
Guest
What did your last slave die of Ian? This is a discussion forum, we discuss things. England wouldn't play Ireland at four day cricket because to my knowledge Ireland have never asked them to. To use your phrase, "evidence, thank you". As for "destroying" a useful talent pathway, it's not worth responding to.
JimmyB
Guest
Ian, England don't actively go out looking for Irish or any foreign players to come and play county cricket in order to recruit them for England. I love the idea that they might have some sort of scouting network, tapping up international talent.
JimmyB
Guest
I think we'll be ok Ian, we've always got southern Africa. England don't play 4 day matches against countries and they already play more cricket than any other country so it wouldn't be easy to fit it into any schedule.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Note that by playing in this competition, Irish players qualify to play Test cricket. For England.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Evidence, thank you. I'd start with seeing how often England have offered to play Ireland in First Class four-day games. Remember, Ireland as a test-playing country will destroy a useful talent pathway for strengthening the English side (hello Mr Morgan !).
Jonny Boy Jnr
Guest
What a stupid article ! Test Cricket will always be the pinnacle of the game. It is the shorter formats which are beginning to wane on fans. The greatest thing cricket has going for it is the genuine contest between bat and ball which is rarely seen in the 'hit and giggle' variety
Fox08
Guest
To be honest I think ODIs could be heading for trouble. Whilst the World Cup has always been great the vast majority of ODI games are bloody boring. The ODI games at the end of a tour have teams largely filled with unknown players. Not sure about offshore but test cricket seems to be doing really well in SA with good attendances at most grounds especially Newlands and Supersport Park. This could be due to the team success though but I think the trend looks set to continue. Cricket will not be able to support 3 formats of the game in the future and I think we will see the razzmatazz of 20/20 and Test cricket being the two who can last. India is starting to throw its fairly substantial weight around which has to be watched carefully by the ICC. Already they have started putting pressure on Cricket South Africa as they didn't like the appointment of Haroon Lorgat (very good ex head of ICC).
JimmyB
Guest
That could work Russ, but if I'm completely honest, I like test cricket just the way it is and I wonder if I bury my head in the sand if it will stay like it. P.S I'm more than happy to see other nations get test status though.
Johnno
Guest
Russ a good analysis. Progress is being made but still some work with affiliate nations is needed. Canada is impressing me there website and growth is very interesting and good. UAE and Afghanastan cricket is a natural sport, with there close links to India/Pakistan. USA is targeting 50,000 registered players over next 5-10 years. http://www.espncricinfo.com/usa/content/story/672297.html
Russ
Guest
I've never understood the appeal of league systems for cricket. I get that segmenting the best teams from weaker ones improves the contest, but there are multiple ways of doing that other than relegation which ChrisUK rightly says causes significant financial difficulties for the relegated. Politically it is a complete non-starter, because neither the big teams nor the small teams will risk the consequences (and rightly so). I wrote an article on the politics and economics of leagues a few months ago. The easier solution is to us a cup system. Play a qualifying stage (home and away) that involves a large pool of nations (but relatively few matches), and at subsequent stages reduce the number of teams (the remainder playing secondary tiers) and increase the length of the series. That way no team faces a prolonged period without high level cricket; but they do need to prove themselves to stay in the competition. Cups are more interesting too, because a team faces more eliminations, and they end in finals.
Tenash
Guest
why is that ? for a moment lets Tests are better than t20's. ok. but why is t20 any lesser than any other sports ? also its now been around for more than a decade and has never been more popular than right now. so unfortunately for you its going nowhere anytime soon. the sooner you & other test purists get that the better for you
Russ
Guest
I'd like to see Pakistan establish themselves in Germany, which has a decent size ex-pat population, high income, and great transport links for fans to attend, and allows series in the northern summer. Specifically Munich, because the Olympiastadion is largely unused, could easily handle the security, media and broadcasting requirements, as well as any sized crowd. All it needs is the grass re-laid and a drop-in pitch. Plus, a test match would broadcast its last two sessions into the sub-continent in prime-time, which is no bad thing. There is plenty of local potential too; when Eurosport broadcast the WT20 last year on their main station 60,000 people tuned in.
humm
Roar Rookie
Sheek, you need to write more! Your comments are always a cut above the majority of articles on this site. It's frustrating to realise there are so many like minded cricket lovers who share this opinion but for some reason others see the demise of Test standards as a natural evolution or worse, a desirable outcome! Many economic cricket rationalists will tell you the Shield costs $32 million to run at an annual loss and therefore CA needs to cover for it with hit and giggle concepts. They are probably right, but I argue that $32 million is the type of growth / job creation / investment that is cancerous. I don't know the answers. I know the Shield didn't cost $32 million in the 1920's or 1960's but heck, hooray for the glorious relationship between money and cricket ay? Maybe Chappelli was right in fighting for first-class contracts, but maybe only right for a short period. I think the bloke from the past who traveled off his own back for miles to get to the ground, then got paid nothing to play for pride and passion, was undoubtedly a better person and therefore a better cricketer than today's professionals. What i do know for a fact is that today's first class scene is weighed down by hangers on and pointless jobs are created for the sake of pointless job creation. We have coaches for goodness sake; dieticians and strength conditioners; sports psychologists; batting coaches; bowling coaches and to top it off we have a CA 'High Performance Manager' overseeing it all. You talk about a cluster#&%@ of grand proportions and there it is. There is money to be saved, but good luck getting those who review budgets and marketing outcomes to ever admit that they themselves are the wasted resource! No, they will kill off the product to preserve their parasitic positions that cricket never needed in the first place.