Test matches in New Zealand are not always the most attended. Photo: Getty Images/Marty Melville
Something similar can be said about the West Indies, whose results in red-ball cricket in recent years have been mixed to say the least, and certainly don't compare to their glory days from the 1960s to the 1990s. The usual explanation for this decline is the growing cultural influence of the United States on West Indian society, and especially the propensity of young West Indian men to play basketball. Ironically, the new Twenty20 competition in America, if it attracts West Indian players, could help revive interest in cricket in some form in the West Indies. However, this will not have any impact on the quality or interest in Test cricket.
At the moment there are no such problems causing interest in England. Many MCC members have complained in recent days about the reduction in ticket availability for friends of members for next season's two Test at Lord's matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. It will be instructive to see if other English fields are filled: I suspect they will be, provided England continue to perform well (there can be no doubt that Baseball has stimulated a new level of interest in the England Test team). But it will also be another example of the English public's desire for serious, memorable cricket that showcases the game at its best, with skills other than those of heavy festival and tight bowling. The overabundance of increasingly boring white-ball cricket has not only dulled the interest in itself, but also reminded cricket fans that it was the long game that attracted most of them to take an interest in professional cricket in the first place. p>
However, Oscar Wilde's observation that every man kills what he loves becomes increasingly applicable to the highest form of play. Tickets are becoming increasingly expensive, and at a time when the ECB is babbling about diversity, inclusion and access (and has just appointed an independent regulator, not least to ensure such things), it hardly helps to ensure that a wide range of people can attend these matches. , but rather tends to limit the clientele to the wealthier segments of the population. This pricing policy may not be sustainable in the long term: competition for people's disposable income is intensifying, and with each year that live Test cricket is limited to subscription television, the potential customer base is being eroded and cricket may already have taken place. viewers find other ways of entertainment.
Moreover, the overplay rate in Test matches has become dismal. The view of some cricket commentators that the actions of the last two seasons have made horrendous betting irrelevant is not shared by many paying spectators: they pay for 90 overs a day, and many feel that this is not enough, given that 100 a day has been quite acceptable in living memory ordinary – and that’s exactly what they should get. Otherwise, this is another attack on the customer base. The review process must be expedited and technology must not go beyond this, and the endless interruptions in the game and the amount of time loitering when the game must be played have become unacceptable. Either fine the parties for such play (and use the money to charge back credit cards), or make them stay an hour late if necessary to catch up.
This is a huge paradox. In England at least, Test cricket is revered much higher than the white-ball game, and every further excess of Mickey Mouse cricket makes the hunger for Test matches even stronger. However, Test cricket is being undermined at every turn – and I haven't even mentioned the threat to it from the marginalization of the county game on which it relies for its players. The cynicism of the ECB, which so ruthlessly pursues the cash cow of white-ball cricket, cannot but have dire consequences for the Test game: the only question is when.
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