‘Everyone wants a crystal ball’: What does the future hold for Test cricket?

South Africa’s capitulation in the current Test series against Australia little more than four months after they were the top-ranked team in the world has again raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of cricket’s traditional format.

The continued batting failures came as some of South Africa’s best players dropped out of Test cricket to concentrate on the white ball formats and lucrative Twenty20 leagues. It was possible to watch South Africa collapse and their former captain Faf du Plessis slogging Big Bash bowlers around on the same day.

Some of the game’s greats have joined a leading administrator and television executive to sharing their views about the future of a game.

Mark Taylor and Ian Botham have suggested two divisions for Test cricket, Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley says Australia have a responsibility to be a good global cricket citizen, while Usman Khawaja and Glenn McGrath believe more money needs to be invested in Test cricket to counter the lure of T20 leagues. Lisa Sthalekar believes the multi-format series used to decide the women’s Ashes may be the answer.

1. What do you think of the health of Test cricket?

Usman Khawaja (Australian opening batter, Queensland captain):
Test cricket is extremely healthy amongst Australia, England and India. The other nations I’m not too convinced on. I think they find it hard building revenue from Test cricket. We’re very lucky in Australia, we’ve had a long tradition of Test cricket from the 1870s to Don Bradman to now, which is embedded in our culture. I think that puts us in good stead. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to money. In Australia we’re paid pretty well to play Test cricket but in most countries they’re not. I think there’s a little cause for concern.

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor.Credit:Getty

Mark Taylor (Former Australian captain, former Cricket Australia board member):
I’m concerned, to be totally honest. We don’t need as many one-sided games, particularly in this country, as we’re getting. People in Australia like seeing Australia win, no doubt about that. But we like seeing good cricket and this summer so far we haven’t seen that. One-sided Test matches are not great for the game.

I said before that I’d like people to consider playing four-day Test match cricket. I think it would put even greater onus on captains to be at times a bit more adventurous. We’re seeing that now with Ben Stokes. I think he’s doing a great job for England. We need contests that are going to excite people and they’ll want to come along and watch or watch on television or listen to the radio.

England great Sir Ian Botham.

Ian Botham (England great):
I think what’s coming up this summer in the UK (The Ashes) could be one of the great Test series for a while. The England side is now playing with a totally different attitude. The difference is they’re now not scared to lose and that’s that’s the key.

Who knows, if you took that magic globe and looked in it there might be only four or five sides playing Test cricket in a few years? I don’t know. For goodness sake, I hope Test cricket survives because if it doesn’t cricket as we know it is finished.

Nick Hockley (Cricket Australia CEO):
Test cricket is part of the fabric of our heritage and culture in Australia and is as popular as ever. More than 140,000 people came through the gates at the MCG in the first three days of the Test match against South Africa and the peak TV audience has hit the two million mark.

So I would say that the health of Test cricket in Australia remains incredibly strong. The Ashes remains one of global sport’s showpiece events and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy versus India is moving to a five-Test series. Interest levels in recent tours to Pakistan and Sri Lanka only serve to reinforce its importance and popularity. Further context has been added to Test cricket by the ICC World Test Championship, which is a great initiative.

A lot of credit is due to the players, who prioritise playing Test cricket and see it as the yardstick to measure themselves in the most demanding format of the game.

Lisa Sthalekar (Former Australian captain):
It’s a tough one. You still have some marquee Test series that seem to capture the cricket audience. So regardless of what country you’re from, people tend to tune in and watch certain series. So in that sense there’s still an appetite for Test cricket, which is good to see. And the players still see it as the ultimate format. So, that’s good to see. Women’s cricket, we are starting to see a bit of a resurgence in Test cricket against the stronger nations, which is probably the best way it needs to go for the next few years. The stronger nations that have the depth and the talent to play Test cricket should. There are concerns, but there’s still an appetite for both men’s and women’s Test cricket.

New Zealand beat India to claim the inaugural World Test Championship in England last year.Credit:AP

Matt Weiss (Fox Cricket GM):
I think the health of Test cricket is terrific. It’s still the pinnacle of the game. I think what we saw in the Melbourne Test, with Cameron Green picking up five wickets on Boxing Day and then the heroics of David Warner to score a double century, they’re the moments that will be replayed, and will be written down in cricket folklore. And I think Test cricket does that kind of thing better than any other format.

Glenn McGrath (Australian great):
England are playing well, they’re bringing a different sort of mentality into the game. You see the crowds here during the Boxing Day Test have still been good. I like to think it’s still going to always be held in high regard. India I think still place a lot of respect on Test cricket, which is great, as do all other nations.

2. What, if anything, can be done to improve the performances of under-performing countries?

Khawaja: Bring money into those countries’ cricket administrations. But the big one is things like unionism. I was in the IPL a few years ago talking to various players about their player associations and some of them didn’t have one. Somewhere like Pakistan, what they’re getting paid is peanuts. We’re very lucky to have the ACA (Australian Cricketers’ Association) here. We all know the challenges and the fights former players had to put cricket (in Australia) where it is now and for the players and Cricket Australia to be partners in the game. I feel that is still lacking, particularly overseas in a lot of countries. No one knows what the revenues of those countries are. I dare say they still earn a fair bit of money from cricket and TV rights deals and I don’t feel it goes back to the players.

Australian batters Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja.Credit:Getty

Taylor: That’s hard because there’s no doubt underperforming countries think more about shorter forms of the game. So the only way is to inject more money and make it more enticing for people to play longer forms of the game. That means an investment in their first-class structure. And maybe we think about having a two-tiered Test match structure — a top six and a bottom six — and you can make your way up or down to that top six, and Test cricket is only the top six, and the next group play off to get into that top six for a certain amount of time. That might be a way of trying to entice countries to want to play Test cricket in that top six. But that will cost money.

Botham: They need to play on good pitches. There are too many bad pitches around. Groundsmen trying to make it do stuff that they shouldn’t. Test cricket is a five-day game. There’s a case of whether there should be two divisions of Test cricket with promotion and relegation to make it a bit more exciting. I think it’s important to play on good surfaces. Then you’ll learn the basics, and be able to bat better. But when you get on these pitches and it’s going all over the place, well, it’s very difficult.

Hockley: As one of the strongest Test-playing nations, we have a responsibility to be a good global cricket citizen and support all other members who are working to advance Test cricket for both men and women. Over the next four years, the men’s team has seven Test tours abroad and we have women’s Tests as part of multi-format series against England, India and South Africa.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley.Credit:Brook Mitchell

Having said that, it’s up to each country to determine their own priorities as to which format of the game will be most effective in generating interest and participation in the sport. For many countries that is Test cricket, but for the emerging cricketing nations that we saw perform so well in the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, white ball formats may be more appropriate.

Sthalekar: When you look at the sides that are a little bit weaker, particularly with Afghanistan and Ireland coming in to play in Test cricket, I’d love to see – in the men’s game – the multi-format competition (played among the stronger women’s teams) used. So that will allow them to play three ODIs, three T20s and one Test match. I think that’s probably the best way to captivate the audience for those weaker sides, because one-day cricket and T20 cricket tends to bring countries together a little bit more, but obviously points-based giving meaning across all of the games. I think that might be a way forward. And that still gives those countries a chance to play against an England, India and Australia.

Weiss: I think it’s really important that the future tours program is set up so that the underperforming countries get a chance to play against the better countries. That will continually keep pushing their performance and give them good exposure to a better experience against stronger and obviously, more skilled players. I’d like to see some more interaction to do with coaching and coaching tours of those countries possibly visiting India, Australia, England, New Zealand. I think that would be good for the game as well.

The women’s Ashes is decided on points accrued across a Test match as well as one-day and T20 internationals.Credit:Getty Images

McGrath: Obviously, the incentive to go and play these T20 tournaments and franchises around the world is there because players are probably not paid as much (by their country) so that’s something that ICC need to look at. Just see if there are any ways they can assist, but it is a concern with teams like the West Indies. The incentive is definitely there where you can support your family more with the money on offer (from T20 leagues).

3. What do you think Test cricket will look like in 10 years

Khawaja: I feel it will still be very strong in Australia, India and England and countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh because they love their cricket. It’s countries like the West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand to an extent. When you’ve got T20 leagues around the world you can never have a go at anyone who is trying to look after their family and their livelihood. When you compare the money playing T20 around the world it’s much higher, much more lucrative. It makes more sense for a lot of cricketers to go and play T20 cricket, to strive just to be T20 cricketers rather than Test cricketers. It comes down to remuneration and how you keep those players in Test cricket. When you can get $500,000 for playing T20 cricket and $100,000 for playing Test cricket in those other countries I wouldn’t know anyone who would pick $100,000 when you’re trying to look after your family.

Former Australian captain Lisa Sthalekar.

Taylor: I think it’s going to be less teams playing the pinnacle of Test match cricket in contests, and slightly shorter games.

Botham: Hopefully, bigger and stronger. Hopefully.

Hockley: Players these days are fitter and stronger than they’ve ever been, so I think that’s going to help ensure that Test cricket continues to be an incredible format to watch. We’re seeing run rates trending upwards, unbelievable fielding, huge improvements in the standards of the women’s game and much more appetite for risk in terms of winning games, which all mean that Test cricket is more exciting than ever. It’s rare now to see attritional draws and I think the increasing pace in which Tests are played will continue.

As women’s cricket continues to grow rapidly across the world, I’d like to think that we will see an increase in the number of Test matches played in the women’s game with more countries embracing multi-format series. The feedback from players is that they want to play more and Australian cricket has got an important role to play in continuing to lead the way.

Sthalekar: I’d love to have a crystal ball. I think everyone wants a crystal ball. Administrators, players, commercial partners. I have no idea. When T20 cricket first came in everyone thought it was a bit of a joke, ‘hit and giggle’. Now fast-forward – 2005 was the first men’s T20 International, so we’re only 17 years on and it’s taken over. So who knows what the future is like? The world is changing at a rapid rate and fan engagement changes as well. I wouldn’t be surprised, and maybe this is hopeful thinking, that we will see cricket go into a cyclical type of arrangement where everyone gets excited about the new fancy car and then we go back to the trusted and tried format so hopefully Test cricket finds a way to still shine.

Weiss: I think it will still be the pinnacle of world cricket. I’ve got no question about that. No doubt T20 has its place and it’s a growing format. Obviously it’s very big in India, but I think Test cricket it’s still the pinnacle of cricket that most cricketers aspire to play.

McGrath: Hopefully still going really well. I think Test cricket hopefully will be in good stead. T20 cricket obviously will be going well but one-day cricket, there’s going to be the question mark around that. I’m very much a purist so hoping in ten years Test cricket will be still as strong if not stronger.

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