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SAVING THE GAME
Stuck in the shadow of brash young offshoot T20, Test cricket is in seemingly terminal decline. Urgent change is needed to rescue it, says Sir Geoffrey Boycott HE MAJORITY OF TEST MATCH cricket spectators come from the older generation who have grown up understanding, admiring and enjoying the nuances of the game. Today’s youngsters grow up watching and playing T20, and when they have kids they will encourage them to watch and play T20. When that older generation passes on, there will be an even bigger decline in Test cricket admirers. A Test match is the ultimate examination of a cricketer’s temperament and technique. Throughout history, and even today, players judge themselves by their Test performances – therefore we have an obligation to try to keep the longer format alive and well supported for the next generation of kids. Doing nothing is not an option. Test cricket is under threat from T20 and, because of Covid-19, is under more financial threat than ever.
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Some people don’t want the game to change, but nobody should be afraid of change. Test cricket has always adapted with the changes, right from its beginnings in 1877. Today’s cricket is a wonderful spectacle, with the number of runs scored per ball bowled being higher than at any time in Test cricket’s history. As an entertainment spectacle it should be appealing – so why is it most countries are struggling to get spectators through the gate? England and Australia are the exception, particularly England, who play their home matches to full or nearly full grounds even though tickets are very
Watching T20, you don’t have to think. Every few minutes there are fours and sixes or wickets falling.
expensive. Australia still get big attendances and have just started dipping their toe in the water with an occasional day/night Test match. But the rest of the world has seen crowds declining for more than ten years. One can understand New Zealand having small crowds as their total population is only 5 million. Cricket used to be everything in the West Indies, but for years hardly anyone has turned up. Now it has got so bad that when England tour the Caribbean there are more England supporters travelling to enjoy some winter sunshine than there are locals attending. South Africa has been in a downward spiral for some time. Government quotas and affirmative action to force black and Cape coloured players into teams after many years of being disenfranchised during apartheid hasn’t helped. Many white players have drifted away from cricket,
disillusioned, or tried their luck in English county cricket like Kevin Pietersen. Mismanagement and arguments between the cricket authorities and the government haven’t helped either. Pakistan have not played a Test match at home since 2009 due to safety concerns after the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists. But for a decade before that the public had lost interest and matches were being played to empty stadiums. Interest for one-day 50-over matches had overtaken Tests. Support in Sri Lanka is so poor it is beyond sad. NDIA IS THE POWERHOUSE OF CRICKET, with over 1.3 million people all cricket mad. For years Test matches were played to full houses as no other sport could get anywhere near the same level of support. Tickets were like gold dust! Even when the matches were sold out, thousands of →
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