Test Cricket is the pinnacle of cricket, but its relevance and future is uncertain

Why we love test cricket

Test Cricket is the pinnacle of cricket, but its relevance and future is uncertain. A format that has a long illustrious history dating back to 1877. Since then test cricket has appealed to so many people and has captured their love of cricket. But in recent times test cricket faces many uncertainties, and challenges and its future remains doubtful. All test cricket fans are worried about is test cricket’s future and potentially facing a reality where test cricket ceases to exist.

But before we talk about test cricket’s uncertain future, let’s talk about why we love test cricket! I think the reason we love test cricket is it’s a format that is steep in tradition, and history and you don’t get that with the other forms of cricket. It’s also a true test for any cricketer to prove themselves in the game's truest and purest form. Test cricket is different to other sports it’s a game where it goes for five days or back in the real old day's test matches were timeless and were played until a result was achieved. Test cricket is exciting, tense and enthralling. Every ball, every session and every over is an event in itself. You never know what is going to happen. People of all generations love test cricket for the reasons I just mentioned. But they’re so many other reasons why we love test cricket but too many to list right now.

My earliest memories of test cricket were watching it on TV as a kid and being captivated by what was unfolding right in front of me. The drama and the suspense were mesmerising and from that moment on I was hooked on test cricket and became a true cricket tragic. Even in my adult years I still get that buzz of waking up early and flicking on the TV to watch a day’s play and watching the players go about trying to win a test match for their country. It’s pure pleasure and I can’t get enough of test cricket.

Many people have similar or differing memories of how they first started to get into the game of cricket or watching test cricket. These memories have a lasting impact on us which we share with other people or with our children. Test cricket has so many meanings to all of us and it carries a special place in our hearts.

So, it’s important to preserve test cricket and make sure it stays for years to come!

Test Cricket’s challenges

As I mentioned earlier test cricket’s relevance and future remain doubtful and we could potentially face a reality where test cricket ceases to exist. I hope that isn’t the case but this debate on test cricket’s future and relevance has been going on for years and it’s always on the minds of every cricket fan. Some have said that test cricket will only be played in a few countries. Test cricket has faced many challenges over its long illustrious history but it faces bigger and tougher challenges ahead.

There’re so many challenges that test cricket has to face too many to list here. But I wanted to focus on some of the most difficult challenges. These challenges are: Countries turning away from test cricket, the rise of T20 domestic franchise leagues and keeping test cricket relevant to a younger audience. I feel that these are the challenges that are test cricket’s biggest challenges and for test cricket to continue it must address these challenges head-on.

Let’s start with the first challenge: Countries turning away from test cricket. It’s pretty clear to all of us that test cricket is thriving in some parts of the cricketing world but in other parts, test cricket is on the decline. It’s sad to see test cricket on the decline in some parts of the cricketing world, the West Indies who once dominated tests from the 1970s to the early 1990s is an example of test cricket declining in some way. Crowds once filled the stadiums around the Caribbean but those days were all but gone. This is a similar story amongst other cricketing nations where test cricket is struggling. The other reason why some countries are turning away from test cricket is down to financial reasons. Not being able to make a profit whilst hosting test matches. So, these countries have to rely on the big three “Australia, India and England” for their income and also some support from the ICC. It’s a bit disconcerting when you hear the chairman of the ICC say there could be less test cricket in the future and that an expanding international calendar could mean countries play less test cricket. I feel the ICC and all cricket boards should do more because all players care about and are deeply passionate about test cricket and want to represent their country at the highest level. Then cricket boards should work together to try and keep test cricket going well into the future. I feel the ICC the sports governing body can do more! It’s the responsible of all governing bodies of any sport to ensure it does everything it can to ensure the sport has a long sustainable future. As we know the ICC isn’t the most productive sporting governing body going around but it needs to stop its procrastination and start doing its job! It goes back to the ICC chairman saying there could be less and less test cricket going into the future. The ICC and cricket boards know this and it’s time to work together and find a way to ensure test cricket stays well into the future and for years to come.

The second challenge I mentioned is the rapid rise of T20 domestic franchise leagues some people may not like to hear this but T20 cricket and these domestic leagues are here to stay and are now a part of the cricketing landscape. I get that T20 cricket isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but since it was created back in 2003 in the UK it has attracted a lot of people to the game of cricket. T20 cricket is convenient for families its short, sharp and quick and all over after three hours. But the rapid rise of T20 cricket is evident to see, in the next FTP (Future Tours Programme) 2023-2027 323 T20I’s will be played. Also, the various T20 domestic leagues will have designated windows within the international calendar to compensate for their competitions.

The biggest concern here is the next generation of cricketers’ ambitions to still play test cricket. These T20 domestic franchise leagues offer players tempting offers to play in these leagues. Take the IPL Auction as an example, teams bid ridiculous sums of money to a particular player they want at their franchise. During this recent IPL Auction young 23-year-old Australian all-rounder Cameron Green was sold for A$3.15 million to the Mumbai Indians. So, the younger generation of cricketers will be tempted to play in these leagues because it does change your life overnight. So, we could see more younger players give up their test cricket ambitions to play in these leagues. So how do we keep the next generation of cricketers still interested in playing test cricket? It comes down to some of the world’s best players promoting and spruiking test cricket. One player who has done this is Virat Kohli he talks passionately about test cricket and he has achieved a lot in his test career while playing for India. So, if players like Kohli, Steve Smith and Joe Root just to name a few talks passionately about test cricket then the younger generation of players will sit up and take notice. Because some of these younger generation players probably have looked up to the players I just mentioned and have seen what they have achieved in test cricket and are inspired to play test cricket and achieve many great things. But the temptation of lucrative sums of money will be the biggest challenge facing test cricket in trying to keep the younger generation of players' ambitions to play test cricket alive.

With the rise of T20 cricket leagues, we’ve seen players turn away from test cricket to play in these leagues. They’re some reasons why this is, but the biggest reason is financial. Players who play for countries where test cricket is struggling but also their cricket boards don’t have sufficient funds to pay their players. Then these players play in these T20 leagues to earn money but also as a way to support themselves and their families depending on their situation financially. Also, we may see players forgo their central contracts with their country to go and pay in these T20 leagues. This has been already done with New Zealand bowler Trent Boult giving up his contract with New Zealand. That has signalled that this could become the norm for players to do. In the case of Boult, he’s in the latter parts of his career and while he is fit and able he has the opportunity to play in these T20 leagues around the world, spend time with his family and still play for New Zealand in a limited capacity.

But if the younger generation decides to forgo their central contract with their countries to go play these T20 cricket leagues then that is a big problem for test cricket to keep the ambition for younger players to play the game’s longest format alive. Test cricket has some difficult challenges when it comes to T20 cricket in general but these T20 domestic franchise leagues provide an even tougher challenge. This is test cricket’s toughest challenge and I’m afraid there might not be a solution to this difficult challenge.

The third and final challenge that test cricket must address is the most difficult one to solve is how to keep test cricket relevant to a younger audience. All cricket fans know that test cricket is the most exciting thing to watch. But whenever you mention test cricket or the game of cricket to the uninitiated the first thing they will often say “Oh not that boring sport”. This is the general stereotype towards test cricket in particular. The main reason why this is the main stereotype towards test cricket is that people’s attention spans are poor and lack patience when watching test cricket. Also, when the uninitiated watch a day’s play they become uninterested runs and wickets don’t happen all the time and the game can often meander. But when the uninitiated watch T20 cricket for example they’re interested and engaged with the game. Because in T20 cricket every ball something happens, runs are scored, big sixes are hit and wickets fall close together.

So how can we engage test cricket to a younger audience? It comes down to how test cricket is played. Many teams' approaches to test cricket can often be negative. Playing conservatively, setting defensive fields, bowling a negative line outside leg stump to restrict run scoring and not taking risks to win a test match. This negative mindset from teams is doing more harm to test cricket than good. Cricket fans don’t want to see negative test cricket they want to see positive exciting and attacking test cricket. I’ve always believed that cricket should be played positively. If you play positively it will often lead to a positive outcome. But if you play in a negative way it will more often than not lead to a negative outcome.

We are starting to see a shift away from this negative way of approaching test cricket into a far more positive way of playing test cricket. There’s one team leading this revolution and that team is England in the form of “Bazball”. What Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have done since they took over the captaincy and coaching roles of England has been quite unbelievable and they have single-handedly turned around an England team from an under-performing team to a performing team. This new way of playing test cricket is what we need to make test cricket more attractive to a younger audience. Stokes and McCullum are similar types of people their philosophies on the game are very similar and both of them are very aggressive type players and they’ve instilled that into this England test team.

What Stokes and McCullum have said to their team is to go out there and have fun. Back yourself and express yourself with both bat and ball and always think in a positive way. It’s quite refreshing to hear a captain say we play for wins and not draws and that’s what Ben Stokes said his team will be doing. It’s one thing to say that but you have to back it up. Stokes certainly did that in the first test vs Pakistan at Rawalpindi. The pitch was a flat lifeless surface and many concluded that it would end in a boring draw. But the way England approached this test was outstanding. They scored 500 runs on day 1 a record in test cricket, they set attacking fields to pick up wickets, then scored at 7 runs an over in their second innings to set Pakistan 343 runs to win. But they were able to bowl Pakistan out in the final few minutes of the test. England made a potentially boring drab test match into one of the most exciting tests we’ve ever seen.

I know some people have questioned “Bazball” regarding its sustainability and also have questioned how long can England keep up playing this brand of test cricket. But I think Stokes and McCullum will keep telling their team to be positive and bold no matter what. There is some rhyme and reason behind what Stokes and McCullum are doing. Whenever Stokes and McCullum talk about “Bazball” or the brand of test cricket they are playing. There’s always one common theme. We went to make test cricket entertaining and exciting and get people watching it. I hope Stokes and McCullum succeed in their goal and hope this can make test cricket relevant and attract people to the format.

Am I optimistic about the future of test cricket? I am optimistic about test cricket’s future I still think it can have a place and remain relevant. People care about test cricket and want it to stay for years to come. People care deeply about it and will do everything they can to help it. I hope one day I can take my children and even my grandchildren to go watch a test match. Experience what test cricket is all about and hope to fall in love with it just like I did when I first watched it on TV. I think we all need to work together to ensure that we can keep test cricket going well into the future. If all cricket boards, the ICC, fans and the players work together and work through the challenges that test cricket is facing then test cricket will prosper. To those who are unsure about test cricket give it a go, watch a game or a day’s play and you’ll be surprised. As the saying goes “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it”. Test cricket has been in existence for over 146 years I hope it keeps going for another 146 years and well long into the future.