South Africa’s challenge of New Zealand in the second test in Hamilton ended up petering out, as one would expect. The team of misfits – more or less the best South African crickets not good enough to play in the SA20 – did remarkably well under the circumstances. We love an underdog and a South African victory would have been extraordinary, but the circumstances were so unnatural that it’s hard not to be left with a bitter taste in the mouth.
But what’s done is done. This series isn’t coming back and neither is South Africa’s status as having never lost a Test series to New Zealand. So, what can be done about what just happened?
The ICC needs to take a little more responsibility. Yes, the Future Tours Program (FTP) was released before many of the details of the SA20 had been confirmed. But surely better collaboration years before either schedule was released between the ICC and Cricket South Africa could have avoided a clash with the New Zealand tour.
The outcome of South Africa sending a weakened squad to New Zealand was predictable. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
A clear window for when each domestic T20 competition takes place, and therefore a clear window in which each national team is ineligible to play, should be established as soon as practicable. That this was not established already gives the sense the ICC were not particularly concerned about this series. Neither country’s respective cricket boards stand to make any money out of this series, nor does the ICC, so perhaps no one cared about it anyway.
In that case, what do the powers that be actually want international cricket to look like?
Because here’s the reality. In a cricket world so dominated by where the money is at any given time, it’s not actually clear what the benefit is to a bilateral series not involving the ‘Big Three’. There is certainly no money to be had in those series. And I don’t want to be misconstrued: I absolutely love Test cricket. I’ll happily sit down and watch a whole day of Zimbabwe v West Indies. The problem is, I’m not anything like a representative of the cricket watching public.
Isn’t that the exact problem Test cricket faces at the moment?
The majority of people who care enough about cricket to talk about it and consider solutions to problems, actually are fans of Test cricket. This creates an echo chamber. How often do you talk to a cricket fan who wouldn’t be sad if Test cricket died, because they prefer T20 anyway? Given the sheer number of people who attend T20 cricket, it’s hard to imagine there aren’t hundreds of thousands of those kinds of people around the globe. We don’t hear from them, because they don’t have a problem. They show up, they turn on their TVs, they watch the game, they move on. Life is good for the T20 fan.
Proteas gun quick Kagiso Rabada missed the New Zealand Test series to play in the SA20. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
With almost all Test nations unable to make the traditional form of the game profitable, but most of them making big money out of domestic T20 leagues, they have every motivation to place their league in the exact most lucrative part of the calendar – wherever is the most convenient.
Cricket South Africa scheduled their league during the tour of New Zealand, not, in my opinion, to spite Test cricket, but because that series was utterly irrelevant to them. They stood to gain nothing, so they put nothing into it.
When teams are sending squads away for Test series that aren’t so much weakened as they are the guys who happened to be available, there actually isn’t any point to the format. It’s an insult to all of us.
If South Africa wants to play their T20 league in February, that’s fine. But there must be a workable and reasonable system where each country has a window for home T20 cricket, and outside of that, their best players must be available. Let’s not forget, this wasn’t Haris Rauf or Jason Holder choosing not to play Tests, this was Cricket South Africa effectively barring their own players from representing their country. Test cricket dies in those circumstances.
If something isn’t done about it, fast, then we run the risk Test cricket becoming irrelevant in most Test playing nations. The New Zealand v South Africa situation should not happen again. The ICC must not allow it.
Brasstax
Roar Rookie
As an Indian, it's frankly getting tired of hearing that Indians don't like test cricket as much as the English and Aussies do. What a load of rubbish! Sir, have you ever been to a cricket stadium in India in summer? It's a concrete oven. With a temp north of 40 degrees celsius, the heat is amplified by the huge concrete stands and seats with nothing over the heads. Rest assured, any time a test match involving India is on, most Indians are following it ball by ball on our smartphones, tablets, laptops and TVs. Bums on baking hot concrete does not prove love for test cricket. It's the actual number of people watching/following the game as it is being played. I assure you, the percentage of Indian population that follows a test match involving India will be more than the percentage of Aussies watching/following a test match involving Australia.
All day Roseville all day
Roar Guru
Apologies for repeating myself from comments in earlier articles. T20 cricket needs first-class cricket, to develop the skills in players necessary for them to succeed in the T20 format. Cricket Australia realised 15 years ago that it was financially risky to rely solely on Ind and Eng touring only every 4 years, thereby generating broadcast revenue only in 2 years out of 4. Especially when Ind threatened to go home after Monkeygate. So it developed the BBL, including without teams representing the six States. Ideally Eng and Aus will realise that cashing in when hosting each other and Ind, and supplementing it with the BBL/Hundred, still isn't enough. They need a strong Test program featuring at least 6 opponents, and preferably more, touring each 4-year cycle. I pray that the ICC, having managed to negotiate a FTP including World Cup/WTC windows, can now be empowered by the BCCI, CA and ECB to impose 7 distinct annual windows- 4 exclusively for domestic T20 tournaments, and 3 exclusively for Test series. For example- Apr/May - IPL only Jun - three T20 tournaments only (in Eng/Ire and WI) Jul/Aug - Test series and ICC tournaments only Sep - three T20 tournaments only (in Ban, SL and Pak/Afg) Oct/Nov/Dec - Test series and ICC tournaments only Jan - three T20 tournaments only (in Aus, NZ and SA/Zim) Feb/Mar- Test series and ICC tournaments only
CPM
Roar Rookie
I think the description of the South African team that toured New Zealand as “The team of misfits – more or less the best South African crickets not good enough to play in the SA20”, was a very poor choice of words. Wrong. They were indeed a team of misfits an E team to be precise with only one or two players good enough to play test cricket. How can they not be an E team when seventy (70) of the best cricketers were drafted into the SA20?
Jacko
Roar Rookie
But it seems I would like to see them make the Final more than they would. LOL yes clearly so....
Cale Hellyer
Roar Rookie
Well I take the WTC extremely seriously. But it seems I would like to see them make the Final more than they would. It's clear they don't consider making the Final as something to gain or lose, because their priorities don't include the WTC whatsoever. That's their standard, not mine.
Cale Hellyer
Roar Rookie
Other than the typo missed in the editing process, what is wrong with that statement? It goes without saying they’ve achieved more than almost everyone on the cricketing stage, but if you extended your logic to everything, almost no one would be able to have opinions on anything. Most political analysts haven’t been Prime Minister. Most music critics haven’t composed a symphony. Most sports writers usually haven’t mastered the sports they write about.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
I dont see how "SA had nothing to gain/lose" when if they had won the series they would have been top of the test table and could have been Test champions. NZ is now leading that group.
RayinSydney
Roar Rookie
I heard an interview a couple of weeks back with the NZC boss, they get $1mil from broadcasters for a 5 day test match, and $2mil for a T20 international , they turned down playing a 3rd test against Aus a few years back because putting on T20's would make them extra money and the test would lose them money, they simply cant afford to keep playing tests.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
I think the description of the South African team that toured New Zealand as "The team of misfits – more or less the best South African crickets not good enough to play in the SA20", was a very poor choice of words. They were good enough to do what none of us have done - represent their country in the toughest form of the game and in that 2nd Test, gave the Black Caps a fair old run for their money for at least the first 3 days. Did they perform any worse than England over the last couple of days if it's last Test in India? At least the Saffers tried and didn't go down in heap in less than 40 overs. There's a myth that Test matches make money. The actual games themselves are money pits, regardless who is playing who. The sport nowadays makes its money from broadcasting/advertising and most of that comes from T20 cricket. As for the recent series fiasco in NZ, I'm guessing that's a one-off and future domestic hit & giggle comps will be scheduled at times that fit in with the future tours programmes.
Cale Hellyer
Roar Rookie
I wrote an article already where I acknowledged the West Indies great achievement. That wasn't exactly a B-team, but a team without some of their best players. Which is also very disappointing. RSA picked some players probably not good enough for their C-team with everyone available.
CPM
Roar Rookie
T20 is the future. Nations like NZ and others that do not have international T20 leagues are the first that will go bankrupt because bilateral cricket will have to squeeze in between T20 tournaments.
Blink
Roar Rookie
It seems you missed the B team West Indies sent to Australia. Probably because they beat us as SA should have beaten NZ in the second test. The SA T20 series is responsible now for keeping SA cricket alive. What happened was well known in advance by both countries but no alternative times were available. Test cricket is only big in Oz, England and less so in India. T20 is where the main game is at. We choose to ignore that being WTC champions.