The ‘decline’ of Test Cricket has already been talked about by many, with the money behind the oldest form of the game slowly disappearing.
The crowds are thinning, the ratings dipping and interest waning among casual fans.
This year’s Australian summer of cricket has seemingly been overshadowed by the Big Bash. The BBL has dominated the sports headlines for the last week with comebacks, capitulations, crowds and Chris Gayle.
Meanwhile, Test Cricket in Australia has been drowning, in both popularity and the rain. The jewel Test of the Australian summer at the Sydney Cricket Ground has been paralysed by rain, with not a single ball bowled on the prestigious Jane McGrath Day.
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The no show in the third Test sums up most of the Frank Worrell trophy, which was once an epic contest between two titans of the sport, Australia and the West Indies. It has since regressed into a one-sided competition, with Australia confidently winning the four Tests it played against the Carribean side in 2015.
However, 2016 could herald the start of one of the most competitive eras in Test Cricket. Currently, the top six teams are only separated by 15 points in the Test rankings. South Africa are clinging on to the Test mace for dear life as they still struggle to fill the void vacated by Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.
Behind them is a resurgent India, who have a bold new leader in Virat Kohli, although their form away from home is yet to be determined. Australia sit in third, having experienced a golden 18 months since winning the Ashes at home in 2014, only to be dragged back to earth after they failed to retain them. 2015 saw the last of the old guard slowly slip away into retirement, leaving Steve Smith with a clean slate to build a new cricket dynasty.
Pakistan are lurking in fourth, with a fantastic run of form at home, and are set to play Australia in the second half of next summer. New Zealand are hanging around in fifth, and while their performance against a vulnerable Australia was disappointing, the team is beginning to put together a fantastic Test side.
Then there is England, who despite languishing in sixth have been a completely different team under Trevor Bayliss. They are currently holding their own against the top teams.
The lack of a dominant team makes Test cricket stronger and there are some exciting match-ups in 2016. Australia will try and beat New Zealand on their own Turf in February, in a sadly truncated two-Test series. England and South Africa will continue their battles throughout the next month with the Poms hosting Pakistan for four hotly-competed matches later this year.
New Zealand will also visit South Africa for two Tests in August.
Australia will see both South Africa and Pakistan touring next summer, two teams who will give the young hosts a run for their money.
New Zealand and India will battle over three Tests, after which England will endure five gruelling Tests against India in the Subcontinent.
This year we have eight series between six teams who could all lay being the best country in the world.
In addition to the lack of dominant teams in Test cricket, we have been blessed with some of the some of the most exciting young batsmen in the game’s history. Steve Smith and Joe Root have seemingly been exchanging the no. 1 spot every week, with Kane Williamson lurking behind them. All three batsmen are set for an exciting 2016.
While Test cricket is struggling off the field to maintain its popularity among the shorter forms of the game, on the field, the game is in good health, with some exciting cricket to come this year.
All I can say is that there is no excuse for a lack of interest in Test cricket, given the exciting cricket we have been promised this year.
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