I have to come clean, I got it wrong

[Cricketdude]

Not always Sohum, a lot of Australian fans found cricket boring when we had Mcgrath and Warne.

 

[King Pietersen]

Ruining it for liking something that's exciting? It's not up to the fan to make Test cricket interesting, it is up to Test cricket to enthrall the fans. Test cricket is not doing itself any favors by producing draws over and over again, so the ICC really needs to start penalizing poorly prepared pitches. Using a poorly constructed music metaphor, if you're a young fan of rock music and have an opportunity to go to a Rolling Stones concert or an (insert-new-rock-band) concert and choose to go to the latter, it is not your fault that the Rolling Stones are losing popularity. It is the Rolling Stones' fault for not attracting the young scene.

The Rolling Stones are obviously in a position where they can ignore the young scene since they have so many fans. But Test cricket cannot fall into that same trap.

I would strongly encourage the ICC to allow for a "home court advantage" in Test cricket wherein the hosting country can prepare pitches that strongly favor them. That means dustbowls in India, greentops in Australia and New Zealand and heavy-moisture conditions in England. There's nothing that pulls a fan to a game like their team winning and if each team can be strong at home, you're going to go a long way in building a Test cricket fan-base.

I agree with your point about making pitches more condusive to results, and a slight advantage for the home side, but I don't agree with your choice of analogy.

The Rolling Stones analogy falls down in that they've made almost zero attempt to appeal to the younger audiences. They've only made 1 new studio album in the last 12 years, and they're not aiming their music at the mainstream and the younger chart listeners anymore. Test Cricket is. It's quite heavily advertised on British TV on Sky, and they show alot of Test cricket. It's not like T20's the only form of cricket getting exposure, with Test cricket being this secret, vintage form of the game. Test cricket is still getting massive exposure, and bar the last England-Windies series', the attendance figures in England have been very high in the last few years, with alot of youngsters attending.

I also disagree with your point regarding Test cricket having to make itself interesting, as frankly, there have been some very, very good Test series in the last few years. I've also watched some very, very good Test matches in the last 12 months. The Australia-South Africa series was excellent, as was the England-India series. Sure there have been a few dull matches, but I still find 90% of Test matches far more exciting than T20 cricket. There are the odd awesome T20 games, but I still prefer Test and ODi cricket, and find it far more interesting.

Different strokes for different folks though I guess. Purely upto personal preference.

 

[Gilly Fan]

I can't say I would. If they said to me 'Lee, you can play in the IPL and earn a million for seven weeks work, or play all 5 Ashes tests for nowt', I would probably be donning the whites.

I'd love to don the baggy green and play for Australia. But earning enough money to set up your family for many many years would be very tempting.

I'd love to say I'd choose the former, but it would be a tough choice.

Saying that, Test Cricket >>>> ODIS>>>> T20 any day of the week.

Gilly Fan added 2 Minutes and 38 Seconds later...

Not always Sohum, a lot of Australian fans found cricket boring when we had Mcgrath and Warne.

It was so annoying. The general public criticized the Aussies for being too good, but as soon as we struggle, we get criticized for being poor. True cricket fans loved that period. It was such an awesome team to watch.

 

[shravi]

Maybe it's not how it's played, it's how it looks. Cheerleaders, music, test cricket needs more of that perhaps. I realize it would destroy the historical value of it for some but at least it is not changing the rules of the game. I realize that they are being stupid but we have to try and do everything possible without changing the actual rules of test cricket.

The idea sohum pointed out about pitch types was also a very good one and I hope with ICC coming out and saying that they will produce more result-oriented pitches, that will happen.

 

[King Pietersen]

Coloured clothes in Test cricket would be sacrilege. Surely that'd mean you'd also have to revert to the white ball, which has been proven to need changing after 35 overs, which frankly isn't viable in a 90 over day of a Test match. Leave it as it is, T20's a fad that'll soon drift away. Attendances in general have been down for the T20 Cup in England, and I'm sure outside India that trend will continue. We're being swamped with T20, and the market's becoming far too saturated, resulting in the format becoming dull. The rules of Test cricket shouldn't have to change to try and tempt lovers of mindless slogging. There'll always be enough proper cricket fans to allow Test cricket to be the primary format of the game.

 

[smssia0112]

As soon as England stop losing, they're back into it?

OD cricket has always been a great form, a chance to watch cricket in one day without being too far off original test cricket.

 

[shravi]

Coloured clothes in Test cricket would be sacrilege. Surely that'd mean you'd also have to revert to the white ball, which has been proven to need changing after 35 overs, which frankly isn't viable in a 90 over day of a Test match. Leave it as it is, T20's a fad that'll soon drift away. Attendances in general have been down for the T20 Cup in England, and I'm sure outside India that trend will continue. We're being swamped with T20, and the market's becoming far too saturated, resulting in the format becoming dull. The rules of Test cricket shouldn't have to change to try and tempt lovers of mindless slogging. There'll always be enough proper cricket fans to allow Test cricket to be the primary format of the game.

Ahh, didn't think about that. My bad.

 

[sohum]

I also disagree with your point regarding Test cricket having to make itself interesting, as frankly, there have been some very, very good Test series in the last few years. I've also watched some very, very good Test matches in the last 12 months. The Australia-South Africa series was excellent, as was the England-India series. Sure there have been a few dull matches, but I still find 90% of Test matches far more exciting than T20 cricket. There are the odd awesome T20 games, but I still prefer Test and ODi cricket, and find it far more interesting.

My point about making Test cricket making itself more interesting referred to your suggesting that King_Cricket is the "type of fan that's ruining cricket". My point was simply that it's not the fan's fault if he finds something more interesting than another. You can't go up to every follower of cricket and mandate that they find Test cricket more exciting than Twenty20 for the purpose of keeping Test cricket alive.

I love Test cricket and it doesn't need to change to be more interesting. But would I rather watch a Test match between Australia and Bangladesh or a Twenty20? Without question I would choose the latter. Would I rather watch a draw that features only two completed innings between India and Pakistan on a flat Delhi track or a Twenty20? Maybe the latter. All these things are part of Test cricket--number of teams, level of competition, percentage of positive results. Test cricket is not anymore just about donning the whites and playing at the pinnacle of your skills.

I am strongly against changing the rules of Test cricket such as the color of clothing, the balls and any "PowerPlay" like rules. I'm currently on the fence regarding referrals. But if most Test series' end up featuring high-scoring draws, interest is going to wane pretty quickly. As an Indian fan, this has been the case. I think in our last few home series' there has only been one result in each of the series', the rest being draws.

 

[Ollie_H]

As an Indian fan, this has been the case. I think in our last few home series' there has only been one result in each of the series', the rest being draws.

Well, make pitches that are more condusive to results then. I

I love test cricket, I will always watch all forms of cricket because i am generally bessotted by the sport. Normally I am much more exicted by watching the test match as its the way the game can swing multiple times in a day. But I do still like T20 and ODI's. Although they are very hard to watch being an england fan

Test Cricket doesn't need much really, fiddle with the other forms of the game all you like but Test Cricket I feel should be preserved with only a few minor tweaks. I do agree with the fact the pitches need to be changed. We need try and get back to the days when the WI pitches were had pace, bounce and some life! Instead of the dead tracks that are last series had.

 

[sohum]

Well, make pitches that are more condusive to results then.

Sigh... if only I had the magic wand of the BCCI. :upray

 

[Ollie_H]

But all the BCCI want is for the fans to come and be able to go for the whole 5 days so they get as much money as possible!

 

[King Cricket]

Well, make pitches that are more condusive to results then

Wish that crap BCCI president Sasank Manohar understood this simple logic. *sigh*

King Cricket added 0 Minutes and 47 Seconds later...

But all the BCCI want is for the fans to come and be able to go for the whole 5 days so they get as much money as possible!

BCCI guys lack brains.

King Cricket added 3 Minutes and 44 Seconds later...

Test Cricket doesn't need much really

Pitches, pitches....make result oriented pitches. Most of the tests involving India are becoming way too boring thanks to the pitches.

 

[smssia0112]

But all the BCCI want is for the fans to come and be able to go for the whole 5 days so they get as much money as possible!

Which is ridiculously stupid business because they'll make a hell of a lot more selling individual days.

 

[shubhrayu]

Its your opinion and I`ll leave it at that. Test cricket is the pinnacle of the sport and if you feel its boring, it could be because you have`nt watched any epic test cricket battles. You would`nt be saying so if you`d have watched the 2001 Border-Gavaskar, 2005 Ashes or the 2007 Border-Gavaskar trophy.

Coming back to the point that Skater was making, I guess everybody got the point he was making. He said he had not been giving OD cricket/LOI Cricket enough importance and that he will be doing so from now on.
So whats all the fuss about?

Agreed......

 

[Precambrian]

Coloured clothes in Test cricket would be sacrilege.

I'd take colored clothes over Stuart Broad any day in test cricket.

I digress though.

Sohum has valid points. Test cricket indeed remains the pinnacle of cricket. Yes, that's absolutely true.

But does it really matter?

It's like "The king is dead, long live the king" statement.

Test cricket belongs to another era altogether. Like all good things, I believe it has run it;s course and must come to a gracious end. It is surviving solely on the artificial life support system provided by ICC and the home boards of a few nations, with virtually not even 1% of the T20 crowd's patronage.

I hate to see Test cricket going out.