Cricket is now being dominated by sub-continental countries

[Bachi]

India has shown remarkable improvement under Dhoni Captaincy in all formates for the last ten years. In ranking India is in top3 in all formates. Now Bangladesh also started flourishing . Where as Pak is showing remarkable performance in tests. Only Srilanka is struggling among sub continent countries.
In non sub continent countries only England is doing good job where as Aus, NZ, WI are struggling like anything.

Once sub continent countries are dominated by AUS, SA..
Now I think time is changed.

What about ur opinion friends

 

[BD-fan]

SL just beat Australia 3-0.

 

[Syed1]

Now that we got the thread title issues out of the way, no cricket is not solely being dominated by subcontinental sides. Australia have won the ODI WC four, yes four, times in the last five tries.

T20 world cup was held in India and the finalists were West Indies and England. Apart from India none of the other subcontinental sides even made it to the semis.


The Test rankings are also skewed in my opinion, since home and away matches have equal weightage. Pak and India wouldn't have been in the top 2 positions were away matches were rated higher.

In ODIs, India is near the top of the rankings but that hasn't resulted in many tournament victories in recent times. Last one being Champions Trophy in 2013. (More than 3 years ago). The other three subcontinental sides are scrapping the bottom of the barrel in terms of ODI rankings.

 

[Slog]

In a way its a worry

Cricket is dying in WI

NZ its always on ice and the fact that their population is equivalent to one small town in the subcontinent doesnt help

Eng it seems large segments of population dont really give 2 hoots about the sport anymore

Australia seems the last bastian but even there its no longer the number 1 sport

 

[marlonbrowndo]

In Test cricket I agree since subcontinent sides are better outside the subcontinent than non subcontinent sides in the subcontinent. However in LOIs I'd say that on paper South Africa are currently the best side.

 

[Convict]

In a way its a worry

Cricket is dying in WI

NZ its always on ice and the fact that their population is equivalent to one small town in the subcontinent doesnt help

Eng it seems large segments of population dont really give 2 hoots about the sport anymore

Australia seems the last bastian but even there its no longer the number 1 sport

Not sure what you mean by this. Cricket is about as popular as it has even been

 

[Slog]

Not sure what you mean by this. Cricket is about as popular as it has even been

attendances for internationals are falling

BBL is sort of resuscitating a dying sport is an impression i get.

 

[Convict]

attendances for internationals are falling

BBL is sort of resuscitating a dying sport is an impression i get.

Attendences aren't falling at all when you compare like to like. Ratings are also high.

just ODIs - in part due to T20 replacing them in relevance in the eyes of most Australians

 

[MMHS]

Probably more appropriate is - "Cricket is dominated by home teams". Even last 3 ICC events for ODI, out of 6 finalists, 5 were hosts, while Test cricket is completely dominated by home teams.

But, eventually Cricket will be dominated by Subcontinent teams & players. It's a dying game in the few countries that it's played outside Asia. Contrary to that, it's unbelievably popular in South Asia - I am sure Afghans & Nepalese will also come up. Besides, 1.7 billion Cricket mad population will produce lots of cricketers, who eventually will move to countries outside Asia & represent them. Already England has 4 South Asian origin player, Kiwis will have 3/4 in few years time; Aussies has one (& couple of fringe players like Shandhu & the leggi); SAF, WI has lists of south Asian origin players in their domestics, even Zimboks has one.

It's a dying game, managed by most incompetent global sports body & dominated by a single country - may be we are the last generation talking about cricket; it'll die into something similar to cricket.

 

[Hasan123]

Let's be honest cricket is a dying sport if were honest.

Look at the demise of West Indies,Sri Lanka,and Pakistan.

South Africa have many 30 plus players as key members of there team still, doesn't seem to be many young batters coming through other than De kock.

New Zealand aren't improving significantly and are decking after the loss of Baz.

Bangladesh are improving and credit to them but don't see them winning tests away from home for a long time,in fact they will be lucky to even play overseas tests in one of the major test nations.

India and England seem pretty strong. Although the fact England can't even produce one decent spinner and some decent test batters shows cricket isn't exactly thriving in England, also cricket is rarely headline news in England and most people don't have an interest in it.

Current Australian team other than Starc,Smith,Warner, Hazelwood isn't exactly strong and they don't seem to be producing the high quality players they once were. But than again replacing Punter,Warner,Magrath,etc may never happen.

We need test cricket and LO formats to thrive and prosper. Icc need to find a way to improve the quality of cricket. This includes investing more at grassroots level for the deprived countries,helping cricket to grow in the associate nations, and ensuring games other than icc events have context and will have something on them and not be pointless like current bilateral series can get.

Current teams could improve there own domestic structures, have fair pitches with an even contest between bat and ball, try to get younger viewers at the grounds.


I like what Warne and Sachin did with the all star games, only problem was it had too many older players should have had some current players in such as Ab,Gayle,etc just so fans who went to watch that game had players to relate too.

Basically cricket is slowly dying,icc can still revive cricket with the help of current test playing nations. I hope in 20 years time test cricket is still the pinacle, the way were are going that may not be the case.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Probably more appropriate is - "Cricket is dominated by home teams". Even last 3 ICC events for ODI, out of 6 finalists, 5 were hosts, while Test cricket is completely dominated by home teams.

But, eventually Cricket will be dominated by Subcontinent teams & players. It's a dying game in the few countries that it's played outside Asia. Contrary to that, it's unbelievably popular in South Asia - I am sure Afghans & Nepalese will also come up. Besides, 1.7 billion Cricket mad population will produce lots of cricketers, who eventually will move to countries outside Asia & represent them. Already England has 4 South Asian origin player, Kiwis will have 3/4 in few years time; Aussies has one (& couple of fringe players like Shandhu & the leggi); SAF, WI has lists of south Asian origin players in their domestics, even Zimboks has one.

It's a dying game, managed by most incompetent global sports body & dominated by a single country - may be we are the last generation talking about cricket; it'll die into something similar to cricket.

What's your opinion on baseball and American football ?

 

[BDfanforever]

No I disagree. Non asian teams generally does well in Asian conditions whereas Asian teams when visiting outside of Asia basically becomes a minnow.

Note i am mainly talking about ODI which is really the only format cricket should be played. Test is a dying sport as someone else mentioned so i do not know or follow it much.

 

[BDfanforever]

Probably more appropriate is - "Cricket is dominated by home teams". Even last 3 ICC events for ODI, out of 6 finalists, 5 were hosts, while Test cricket is completely dominated by home teams.

But, eventually Cricket will be dominated by Subcontinent teams & players. It's a dying game in the few countries that it's played outside Asia. Contrary to that, it's unbelievably popular in South Asia - I am sure Afghans & Nepalese will also come up. Besides, 1.7 billion Cricket mad population will produce lots of cricketers, who eventually will move to countries outside Asia & represent them. Already England has 4 South Asian origin player, Kiwis will have 3/4 in few years time; Aussies has one (& couple of fringe players like Shandhu & the leggi); SAF, WI has lists of south Asian origin players in their domestics, even Zimboks has one.

It's a dying game, managed by most incompetent global sports body & dominated by a single country - may be we are the last generation talking about cricket; it'll die into something similar to cricket.

If someone asks who is the best team in cricket it will always be Australia. So no it is not being "dominated" by South Asian teams.

Pak is only good in Tests, Ban sucks in tests and still considered a minnow in ODI, SRL is also poor in both formats. Only IND is good in all format even then they also loose to Aus NZ Eng.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

No I disagree. Non asian teams generally does well in Asian conditions whereas Asian teams when visiting outside of Asia basically becomes a minnow.

Note i am mainly talking about ODI which is really the only format cricket should be played. Test is a dying sport as someone else mentioned so i do not know or follow it much.

[MENTION=865]Big Mac[/MENTION] a gif for the second paragraph?

 

[Bewal Express]

Asian teams dominate in Asian conditions.

 

[WC-Passion]

Home advantage is such a big thing in Cricket that it can make games either boring or even more exciting.

In-terms of the sport dying, I feel like it's on the brink in England and WI, however it's still really strong in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, NZ, Aus and South Africa.

The sport just needs to be spread around more, it's ridiclous that such a big sport isn't even played in most of Europe at a serious level.

 

[Big Mac]

Note i am mainly talking about ODI which is really the only format cricket should be played. Test is a dying sport as someone else mentioned so i do not know or follow it much.

 

[zn426]

Home advantage is such a big thing in Cricket that it can make games either boring or even more exciting.

In-terms of the sport dying, I feel like it's on the brink in England and WI, however it's still really strong in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, NZ, Aus and South Africa.

The sport just needs to be spread around more, it's ridiclous that such a big sport isn't even played in most of Europe at a serious level.

Yes, well, soccer is not exactly popular in India, Bangladesh, or Pakistan either. I mean, sure it's got support but it's like watching one of the second level sports here in America.

 

[MMHS]

What's your opinion on baseball and American football ?

Cricket is heading exactly the Baseball & Football (Yanki) model. Baseball has no national identity - there are 2 major leagues in world (Japan & of course MLB), where players from different countries play. There are players from Panama, Poland, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Surinam, Diminica and many other countries in MLB, but there is no national competition apart from Olympics. NFL is even more franchise sports - 20 years back Basketball & Ice Hockey was similar. There is one dominant market for these sports & that's it. In few years time cricket will head to same direction - mostly India & South Asia based. Also, countries like BD, AFG, IRL or even PNG are apparently rising, because of the decline of overall standard. Not a single contemporary team, apart from BD & may be England (that too in ODI) stands any chance in a 5 match series (be Test or ODI), against their 1996 team.

It's a slow death. We are from this generation support/follow the game from our past affiliation & emotional attachment - otherwise someone like me, won't have been able to name half of Misbah's pathetically boring side. It's a sort of brand loyality, that's carrying cricket, like club football - Sunderland, Preston North End, Nottingham Forrest, Durby County, Wolverhampton Wanderears, Leeds United, Aston Villa, Newcastle United are nobody in English football these days - still many of those clubs have more fan base than Chelsea or Man City (again that will change after 2 generations). But, cricket is not growing - so, once our generation is gone; it'll become an extinct sports, in most part of world where it's played.

 

[MMHS]

If someone asks who is the best team in cricket it will always be Australia. So no it is not being "dominated" by South Asian teams.

Pak is only good in Tests, Ban sucks in tests and still considered a minnow in ODI, SRL is also poor in both formats. Only IND is good in all format even then they also loose to Aus NZ Eng.

Won't be forever. It's "Australia" now, because they are genuinely the best side with a glorious past. What you are saying is absolutely wrong - 30 years back if you had asked the same question, may be 1% Aussies would have said that.

There is nothing called forever in sports. Just about 2 decades back, it was almost taken for granted that Brazil should win WC every time - in last 4 WC's they were not top favourite; Germany has replaced them as worlds football super power. Already Aussies supremacy is a big question mark for their results is Asia; if they don't win any of the next 2 WCs, new generation won't chew on that wonderful team of 1998 to 2007 just like in PP, apart from few, hardly anyone bothers for what was Lloyd's Calipso Cricket. I can tell that in 25 years time, 3 of the top 4 teams will be from South Asia; can be even more, if Afghans & Lankans can keep up - the then PP won't bother much for a Australia or England or South Africa, unless they are in top 3-4 that time.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Cricket is heading exactly the Baseball & Football (Yanki) model. Baseball has no national identity - there are 2 major leagues in world (Japan & of course MLB), where players from different countries play. There are players from Panama, Poland, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Surinam, Diminica and many other countries in MLB, but there is no national competition apart from Olympics. NFL is even more franchise sports - 20 years back Basketball & Ice Hockey was similar. There is one dominant market for these sports & that's it. In few years time cricket will head to same direction - mostly India & South Asia based. Also, countries like BD, AFG, IRL or even PNG are apparently rising, because of the decline of overall standard. Not a single contemporary team, apart from BD & may be England (that too in ODI) stands any chance in a 5 match series (be Test or ODI), against their 1996 team.

It's a slow death. We are from this generation support/follow the game from our past affiliation & emotional attachment - otherwise someone like me, won't have been able to name half of Misbah's pathetically boring side. It's a sort of brand loyality, that's carrying cricket, like club football - Sunderland, Preston North End, Nottingham Forrest, Durby County, Wolverhampton Wanderears, Leeds United, Aston Villa, Newcastle United are nobody in English football these days - still many of those clubs have more fan base than Chelsea or Man City (again that will change after 2 generations). But, cricket is not growing - so, once our generation is gone; it'll become an extinct sports, in most part of world where it's played.

Reason why I asked that question was I heard my dad saying the exact line 'cricket is a dying sport' during my childhood. Now in 2016 I don't see much of a difference in terms of viewership or craze of the sport. ODI's have been replaced by T20's in terms of attendance. It's a digital generation, you will not see 1,00,000 people in EDEN or every JAMODI being a sell out but TRP's are still very high.

Cricket is the national sport of England and Australia, why will they let it die? It's a national pastime, even if all other nations stop playing cricket, Ashes will go on, I am 100% sure.

What concerns many people is test cricket (real format) is not expanding ala T20's to new nations. This is an undeniable fact and it would never expand, in fact if we have 15-20 strong test teams every nation will get to visit other once in 7/8 years which is ridiculous. IMO it's just a psychological feeling that something is going to become extinct, nothing much has changed and would not deteriorate even in future, chill and enjoy the sport

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Reason why they are doing this is because they want more tv ad revenue if a game lasts 5 days and not because they want to give visiting teams a chance

I have seen in your previous posts saying cricket is dominated by Asian teams because western nations don't take it seriously, it's wrong. Cricket is not a pure physical sport like soccer/ rugby where stamina/ built plays a major part, test cricket is more about concentration and discipline. Apart from fast bowling other aspects of the game are controlled in your mind and how you outsmart your opposition hence role of a captain is of far more important in test cricket to any other sport.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

No I disagree. Non asian teams generally does well in Asian conditions whereas Asian teams when visiting outside of Asia basically becomes a minnow.

Note i am mainly talking about ODI which is really the only format cricket should be played. Test is a dying sport as someone else mentioned so i do not know or follow it much.

Test is not dying, it's stagnant and that's how it should be as long as quality is good.

Disagree on the part where you want only ODI's to be played. Test is the best format but you got to understand and fall in love with that else you would always feel it's a bore fest

 

[Executioner]

Cricket is dying but only because its not branching out. In the last few years we have seen only Afghanistan and Ireland emerge. Now, that is 2 teams in 15 years.

Teams like Scotland, Netherlands have been around for millions of years(just saying) and they have struggled due to lack of funds and ICC hasn't done enough for them.

For starters this is what ICC should have done:

i) Create more oppurtunities for associates to play against better sides: This could mean world cup qualifiers where only the host need not participate just like football. There could essentially be a FTP where each associate nations gets to play atleast 2 series against top flight teams per year. This includes India-Zimbabwe, bear in mind the series will be short, 3 ODI, 2 T20 at max, or even simply 3 ODIs which will be done and dusted in a week.

ii) More teams in world cup: What every cricketer dreams is to play in the world cup. When players play in the world cup it gives them a different level of confidence. It also attracts interests from players with talent but limited interest to play for the national side. e.g. Ryan Tendoeschate.

iii) Marginally increase funding to the associate nations so they can afford better facilities.

iv) Assign responsibility to the boards of test nations to "help" a certain nation. This could involve including them in a single domestic competition, providing facilities, etc. If necessary, ICC should bear the costs.

The best way to make cricket more exciting is by adding a different flavor to it, and you do that by having more competitive underdogs. Also by spreading the game, you can tap potential markets.

 

[Sin Nombre]

The way to grow cricket is not by killing it in traditional countries by forcing them to play uncompetitive matches.

It is mentioned often as an idea but is incredibly counter-productive.


Best and easiest way is to have T20 be part of the Olympics which means there will be a lot more funding in a dozen new countries immediately. It is also the easiest form of the game for new teams to pick up.

Test and ODI formats will grow by slowly targeting other large population, poor sporting countries like the subcontinental ones - most of SE Asia fits that bucket as do some of the African ones.

 

[msb314]

Now that we got the thread title issues out of the way, no cricket is not solely being dominated by subcontinental sides. Australia have won the ODI WC four, yes four, times in the last five tries.

T20 world cup was held in India and the finalists were West Indies and England. Apart from India none of the other subcontinental sides even made it to the semis.


The Test rankings are also skewed in my opinion, since home and away matches have equal weightage. Pak and India wouldn't have been in the top 2 positions were away matches were rated higher.

In ODIs, India is near the top of the rankings but that hasn't resulted in many tournament victories in recent times. Last one being Champions Trophy in 2013. (More than 3 years ago). The other three subcontinental sides are scrapping the bottom of the barrel in terms of ODI rankings.

Asian sides dominated ODI's/T20's from 2007-2014. When we reached the SF of the 2009 CT, 2011 WC, 2010 and 2012 World T20's and won it in 2009. India won the 2007 World T20 and obviously won the 2011 WC and the 2013 CT. SL reached several finals and won the 2014 World T20.

That was probably the golden period for Asian sides.

 

[anuk]

Cricket is definitely dying in smaller cricket nations like SL, wi, Aus, nz etc

There just isn't enough passion for the game.

 

[Gilly]

Asian sides dominated ODI's/T20's from 2007-2014. When we reached the SF of the 2009 CT, 2011 WC, 2010 and 2012 World T20's and won it in 2009. India won the 2007 World T20 and obviously won the 2011 WC and the 2013 CT. SL reached several finals and won the 2014 World T20.

That was probably the golden period for Asian sides.

The two teams with the best winning ratio's in that period were Aus and SA, the only subcontinent team of any significance was India.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

The two teams with the best winning ratio's in that period were Aus and SA, the only subcontinent team of any significance was India.

I personally don't give them as much importance as ODIs but it was surely a different case in T20s. We were the best side from 2007-2010 after which SL and India started dominating.

 

[Gilly]

I personally don't give them as much importance as ODIs but it was surely a different case in T20s. We were the best side from 2007-2010 after which SL and India started dominating.

From 2007 to 2010

Pak won 26 lost 17 tied 1
SA won 24 lost 9

 

[JibranAnsari]

India are making superb tracks which affect the batting average of their batsmen but they ensure that they demolish their opposition


Australia and england have started making flat tracks of late which give subcontinental teams a lot of heart to compete in their conditions. Nz was never that good at one and south Africa was better away than at home anyway. Spin is the biggest challenge which the western teams can't seem to overcome.

 

[Aman]

The game was going strong in NZ while McCullum was captain and the team was performing exceptionally with a lot of casuals jumping aboard. No idea how popular it is now after the poor performances against Aus (home and away), SA and India.

A lot of people seem to be bagging NZ and one popular NZ sports Facebook page doesn't even post much on NZ cricket anymore. During their golden run they received a lot of attention. It's all about The All Blacks, Super Rugby, The Warriors, Joseph Parker and the UFC atm.

 

[WC-Passion]

Yes, well, soccer is not exactly popular in India, Bangladesh, or Pakistan either. I mean, sure it's got support but it's like watching one of the second level sports here in America.

Yes, but there is some interest and an actual international team (whether they're good or not is another thing). The sport is literally dead in most of eastern Europe.

 

[anuk]

Yes, but there is some interest and an actual international team (whether they're good or not is another thing). The sport is literally dead in most of eastern Europe.

what's popular in eastern europe then?

 

[WC-Passion]

what's popular in eastern europe then?

Football, NFL and NHL, even Ice Hockey.

 

[anuk]

Football, NFL and NHL, even Ice Hockey.

ah cheers. i thought u were saying that football is dead in eastern europe.

 

[Itachi]

Test is not dying, it's stagnant and that's how it should be as long as quality is good.

Disagree on the part where you want only ODI's to be played. Test is the best format but you got to understand and fall in love with that else you would always feel it's a bore fest

Stagnant is a bad sign for any aspect.

It means it can't grow anymore. But it indeed can go downwards. Whenever you have stagnant curve, beware. End may not be far.

 

[WC-Passion]

Stagnant is a bad sign for any aspect.

It means it can't grow anymore. But it indeed can go downwards. Whenever you have stagnant curve, beware. End may not be far.

They have tried with Day and Night Test Cricket but it really hasn't worked very well.

 

[Markhor]

As long ago as 1970 John Arlott wrote "It may be true that English cricket as we know it is dying. In England, admittedly there are problems. Adult participation numbers are down and some club/village teams struggle to make up the numbers. Counties are in dire financial straits.

Whilst Sky's cricket coverage is superb - one cannot promote a sport behind a paywall. Cricket gained enormous mainstream coverage during the 2005 Ashes, mostly because it was available to the masses on free-to-air Channel 4. SOME cricket needs to return to free-to-air television like the T20 Blast.

On a wider note, as is often mentioned - Test cricket is in danger. Nobody is interested in UAE-type Tests where teams are crawling at 2.5RPO on a slow, flat deck for 5 days. I'd move to 4 day Tests given how nearly half of Test matches in recent years have finished in that time, prepare more sporting wickets and run rates would increase. I'd also introduce a Test Championship to provide context to the "premier format" instead of these endless, meaningless bilaterals.

I also agree with the Olympics suggestion mentioned above.

 

[Markhor]

Just to add a rider to the above post - London Tests are still selling well.

Lord's had record crowds for a day of Test cricket in the England-Pakistan match.

Outside London its a different story.

 

[BDfanforever]

Just to add a rider to the above post - London Tests are still selling well.

Lord's had record crowds for a day of Test cricket in the England-Pakistan match.

Outside London its a different story.

Yeah, most of the people that you see in the stands are retired.

 

[Bilal7]

Racists are certainly not welcome on this forum.

 

[MMHS]

Reason why I asked that question was I heard my dad saying the exact line 'cricket is a dying sport' during my childhood. Now in 2016 I don't see much of a difference in terms of viewership or craze of the sport. ODI's have been replaced by T20's in terms of attendance. It's a digital generation, you will not see 1,00,000 people in EDEN or every JAMODI being a sell out but TRP's are still very high.

Cricket is the national sport of England and Australia, why will they let it die? It's a national pastime, even if all other nations stop playing cricket, Ashes will go on, I am 100% sure.

What concerns many people is test cricket (real format) is not expanding ala T20's to new nations. This is an undeniable fact and it would never expand, in fact if we have 15-20 strong test teams every nation will get to visit other once in 7/8 years which is ridiculous. IMO it's just a psychological feeling that something is going to become extinct, nothing much has changed and would not deteriorate even in future, chill and enjoy the sport

Your father & you are both right, to a certain extent.

I am not sure when he said that, but if it's in 80s, imagine the transition in 5 non Asian country from mid 80s -

1. In England, Ian Botham was more respected than Gary Lineker or Brian Robson - might be respected as well. There were often full house in last day of a County match.

2. In AUS/NZ, cricket was undoubtedly one of top 2/3 team sports with best talents going to cricket often. It was so popular that Kerry Packer invested for a private league (Sanford also did, but now we know his source of funds). That time, one of the icon event in Cricket calendar was WSC - which is closed now from 2007 (unless it's the Indian touring year).

3. Cricket was so popular in Caribbean Isles that, their domestic football season (in different countries - WI plays cricket as a combined unit, but their members are individual FIFA entity) had to be adjusted for Feb-May cricket window

4. In South Africa, despite omelette isolation, it was financially viable to arrange rebel tours - players were happy to sacrifice few years of international for the earnings of just one tour.

There is absolutely no question that this game is going for a slow death out side Asia. It has already a life span of 200 years - so, it'll take longer for the death. In fact cricket was in its second century when first international soccer match was played. In around 1850, teams from USA & AUS toured U.K. for cricket tours. In 1900s to 1940s - average attendance for a Count match on last day was higher than average of English 1st division football.

But, you are also right & that's exactly my point - everything you have said is true for Asia, particularly South Asia. On 3rd Day of Dhaka Test, data usage was one of the highest in history while mobile operators had a big pay day from push-pull SMS (Score update). If we have just about 12 strong Test teams, that's more than sufficient for this game to survive for another century; but I am afraid by 2035; it'll come down to 5/6 teams, mostly Asian teams & non Asian teams represented by majority south asian origin people.

 

[MMHS]

Yeah, most of the people that you see in the stands are retired.

Test cricket will never get younger crowd - it's not required either. These days, you don't need to spend 8 hours at the ground to follow the game. I post lots of comments on match day during office time - it's not that I am watching TV; I just carry my IPad with the lap top & watch games even in subway or while driving

Also, these days I actually enjoy cricket more in TV/Broad band than going to ground - I think I went to any cricket stadium last in 2011 WC. The production quality is so rich these days that I actually enjoy cricket in tv more, which allows me to be involved in other tasks, at the same time watch the game, replays, stats, analysis ....

It's like cinema halls' attendance is reducing, but that doesn't mean movie viewership is declining. I am sure, though UAE grounds are almost empty, but lots of people are following shore in CI, or watching in tv/Broadband/palm top.

 

[Sin Nombre]

But, you are also right & that's exactly my point - everything you have said is true for Asia, particularly South Asia. On 3rd Day of Dhaka Test, data usage was one of the highest in history while mobile operators had a big pay day from push-pull SMS (Score update). If we have just about 12 strong Test teams, that's more than sufficient for this game to survive for another century; but I am afraid by 2035; it'll come down to 5/6 teams, mostly Asian teams & non Asian teams represented by majority south asian origin people.

I think you are missing AM's point.

More people are watching T20 at the grounds than ever before. 3 of the top 15 leagues in all sports by average attendance are T20 leagues.

This has never been the case in cricket's entire history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attendance_figures_at_domestic_professional_sports_leagues

Test cricket will slowly come down to the Asian teams + the Aussies but that makes sense.

What cricket and its followers and administrators need to embrace even more is that T20 is the format that will keep the punters coming in. Embrace the Olympics.

And this is coming from someone who only watches test cricket outside of the ICC tournaments.

 

[BDfanforever]

Test cricket will never get younger crowd - it's not required either. These days, you don't need to spend 8 hours at the ground to follow the game. I post lots of comments on match day during office time - it's not that I am watching TV; I just carry my IPad with the lap top & watch games even in subway or while driving

Also, these days I actually enjoy cricket more in TV/Broad band than going to ground - I think I went to any cricket stadium last in 2011 WC. The production quality is so rich these days that I actually enjoy cricket in tv more, which allows me to be involved in other tasks, at the same time watch the game, replays, stats, analysis ....

It's like cinema halls' attendance is reducing, but that doesn't mean movie viewership is declining. I am sure, though UAE grounds are almost empty, but lots of people are following shore in CI, or watching in tv/Broadband/palm top.

Yeah, may be for Indian or Bangaldeshi cinemas not for Hollywood lol. Also, following is not same thing as watching the game is it.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Benefits of being an Olympic sport

Ice hockey is also gaining popularity. Beijing has expanded its youth club league to the biggest in Asia, boasting 19 clubs, 130 teams, about 1,800 athletes and 698 matches this year, according to the city government. In the financial center Shanghai, more than 500 young athletes are taking training sessions.


Cricket in its T20 version really needs to be part of the Olympics and soon.