http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25944668/test-cricket-dying-shashank-manohar
Finally, someone speaks cold truths. I agree with Manohar that test cricket does not hold the same interest anymore in today's times. I mean in an era where people find logic as to where every minute of their lives are being spent on, test cricket is always going to be a hard sell when it takes 5 days (and each day comprising almost a full working day, nearly ~7 hours). Even the highest quality of test matches are not going to be followed for the entire duration and anywhere close to it, by this generation and the upcoming generations. It's just a massive waste of time, even if you give me an epic test match that ebbs and flows and goes to a sensational ending.
Anyone who thinks that test cricket can be back to the mainstream again, are living in a fetish world. Maybe keep test cricket alive by playing it among very little countries and by making it an 'elite' format (just to please those few and diminishing group of people who have all the time in their life to follow every ball of a test match). Yes I have grown up in a generation where test cricket produced epic games and some of my best memories as a fan dates back to certain tests that were so absorbing. But even in those days, I have always asked myself and to others "why do people waste 5 days on a single game of sport that has a chance of not producing a result even after 5 days". And that has kept me away from the fanaticism that is part of the "Save Test Cricket" group.
