Should we have a Test World Cup?

[Howsie]

No, changes do need to be made, just not this drastically. ODi series should be shortened to 3 match series, these 5 and 7 ODi series and triangular tournaments are ridiculous. You could then have 1 or 2 T20's alongside the 3 ODi's. This would cut down the ridiculously packed player schedule, which I believe would improve the overall standard of cricket played. We also need to stop having a T20 WC every year, it's pointless, completely takes away the achievement of winning a WC if there's one the next year. The Test countries boards also need to be stricter on their contracted players, stopping them going to the IPL if they're carrying injuries or have a particularly busy schedule in the near future.

Also there needs to be some sort of fining system in place for the National board if they consistently produce god-awful, flat slow pitches. The reason pitches are getting flatter is because of the money, so if you fine a board for a shockingly flat pitch, they'll soon incentivise the domestic groundsmen for making a pitch that offers an even contest between bat and ball. Flat pitches producing boring Tests is what's going to kill Test cricket, and something needs to be done about it.

Day/Night Tests are a rubbish idea as well. The last thing I want to see is a Test match played in coloured clothes with a white ball. Eugh.

I was merely trying to say that 50 over cricket should stay as it is, what would be the point of taking away 10 overs. I agree with everything else your've said though. But where do you draw the line for fining boards if they produce poor pitches. I don't think that could work tbh, although don't they do it in county cricket.

 

[King Pietersen]

If there are circumstances that have stopped the groundsman producing a good pitch, such as very heavy rain in the build-up to a game (such as the case with the recent Edgbaston Test) then they get away with it, but if there has been ample time to produce a pitch which offers something for bowlers and batsmen, but we get a slow, dry, flat deck, then either the country board or the county/domestic club themselves deserve some kind of punishment. It could be in the form of a fine, or it could be suspension from holding a Test for a certain period of time. It may be abit harsh, but it needs to be done. No-one wants to watch a game where it's a nailed on draw after the 1st session.

 

[Howsie]

If there are circumstances that have stopped the groundsman producing a good pitch, such as very heavy rain in the build-up to a game (such as the case with the recent Edgbaston Test) then they get away with it, but if there has been ample time to produce a pitch which offers something for bowlers and batsmen, but we get a slow, dry, flat deck, then either the country board or the county/domestic club themselves deserve some kind of punishment. It could be in the form of a fine, or it could be suspension from holding a Test for a certain period of time. It may be abit harsh, but it needs to be done. No-one wants to watch a game where it's a nailed on draw after the 1st session.

Totally agree. But I still think you would need some sort of guidelines. Both teams could make 600+ in their first innings because the bowling was poor, does the home board get fined because of something like that happening. I mean you could have movement for an hour in the morning but because the batting was too good massive scores were put up. Hopefully that sort of makes sense but boards would always try and fight a rule like this.

 

[King Pietersen]

Well in that case you'd rely on the judgement of the match referee along with the umpires to make a detailed judgement of the pitch itself. There could possibly be a scoring system in place, and the umpires, along with the match referee score the pitch using various categories, and if the ranking falls below a certain limit then the relevant board recieve a penalty for that. I would trust the match referee along with the umpires to make a pretty good judgement of conditions, and not base the performance of the pitch on purely how many runs are scored.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

KP, I posted a similar thing to that in the other thread on test cricket.

my suggestion is the ground is banned from hosting tests for a year (which in reality would only be the months of summer), it's the club's groundsman that prepares the pitch, it's the club that makes a percentage of the money. there was an article on cricinfo how a groundsman got hauled before his teams board and was asked to explain why he cost the club money by making a picth that didn't make a 5 day match.

If glamorgan, for example, who prepared a pancake just so they could get back as much of the money they spent getting hosting rights risked being banned from hosting tests for doing so I'm pretty sure they would have tired to make a better wicket. It would also encourage boards to step in as england do not want to see Lords excluded from their calendar for an entire summer, australia similarly with the MCG and india with edens garden.

 

[McLOVIN]

it would take years to finish. even some of the 50-over ODI WC matches gets boring sometimes