Ravi Shastri : 'Cut the number of Test teams’ to improve Test cricket

[James]

<b>Ravi Shastri - 'Cut the number of Test teams' to improve Test cricket</b>

"We have to look at reality. If you don't see reality it is going to give you the biggest knockout punch you've ever got. You have to look at the demand and go with the economics of the sport.

"Franchise cricket is ruling the roost and will rule the roost, so how are you going to still have international cricket going? You have to cut the volume of bilateral cricket if you want all three formats to survive.

"I feel the emphasis will be on Test and T20 cricket - 50-over cricket might be pushed back but it can still survive if you focus just on the World Cup.

"Paramount importance should be given to the World Cups in 50-over and T20. The bucks have to increase for players to still want to be part of those.

"Test cricket will always remain. In India franchise cricket brings in the coffers but all players want to play Test cricket because you play it for 10 years and you are remembered.

"But if you want Test cricket to survive you cannot have 10, 12 teams playing. Keep the top six, keep the quality of cricket going and respect quality over quantity.

"Expand teams in T20 or one-day cricket if you want to spread the game, but reduce the teams in Test cricket so you have to qualify for the top six if you want to be playing Tests matches.

"Test cricket tests you, you need quality. So if there is no quality then who is going to watch it?

''You are going to have two or three-day games. It is also expensive to host Test cricket so spread the game with white-ball cricket."

—————

Is he right?

 

[gazza619]

Bye bye England & NZ then.

What a dumb idea by Shastri.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Lol as if India or England or Australia even bothers to play teams like Bangladesh, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan. But I guess that's their fault too.

 

[MenInG]

So idea is that Test becomes a format to be played by a select few (3-4 teams), rest of the world can fly kites...

 

[Saj]

Promotion and relegation system with 2 divisions maybe?

Could that work?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

<b>Ravi Shastri - 'Cut the number of Test teams' to improve Test cricket</b>

"We have to look at reality. If you don't see reality it is going to give you the biggest knockout punch you've ever got. You have to look at the demand and go with the economics of the sport.

"Franchise cricket is ruling the roost and will rule the roost, so how are you going to still have international cricket going? You have to cut the volume of bilateral cricket if you want all three formats to survive.

"I feel the emphasis will be on Test and T20 cricket - 50-over cricket might be pushed back but it can still survive if you focus just on the World Cup.

"Paramount importance should be given to the World Cups in 50-over and T20. The bucks have to increase for players to still want to be part of those.

"Test cricket will always remain. In India franchise cricket brings in the coffers but all players want to play Test cricket because you play it for 10 years and you are remembered.

"But if you want Test cricket to survive you cannot have 10, 12 teams playing. Keep the top six, keep the quality of cricket going and respect quality over quantity.

"Expand teams in T20 or one-day cricket if you want to spread the game, but reduce the teams in Test cricket so you have to qualify for the top six if you want to be playing Tests matches.

"Test cricket tests you, you need quality. So if there is no quality then who is going to watch it?

''You are going to have two or three-day games. It is also expensive to host Test cricket so spread the game with white-ball cricket."

—————

Is he right?

He's being generous . That particular segment on Sky was about the future of cricket and what I saw was a great reluctance on the part of the English commentators to accept the reality that Test cricket is simply unviable for most boards.

It is very easy for an English ex cricketer to talk about Test cricket very favorably because it is still profitable for the ECB.

But even Athers, for all his wisdom, is being disingenuous by not acknowledging the reality.

He admitted that Test match cricket is very expensive to host and gave the example of Cricket West Indies only profiting when India or England tours .

You can't on the one hand talk about the need to rebalance the cricketing order and support smaller boards and at the same time privilege "Test" membership in the ICC when most of the Boards would rather not host as many tests.

Test match cricket can only be sustained by rich, privileged boards. You want to reduce elitism in cricket and be more inclusive ?

Get rid of the concept of "Test" status , prioritise the short format and make the game truly global.

 

[Double Trouble]

So if Ind & Pak are in the top 6 which they should be they won’t play each down to 4 other teams playing each other on a regular basis.

Can anyone tell me who listens to Shastri.

Sky sports biggest mistake bringing him back to chat garbage once again.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Sounds like a PR agent for the BCCI money making machine.

If India only play the top 5/6 teams they will earn the most revenue without having to take time out to play against the smaller nations.

Instead Shastri should grow some courage and demand India to stop using politics and play Pakistan. This will benefit test cricket.

 

[Bewal Express]

7 test teams
Ind
PK
Eng
SA
NZ
Aus
SL

Take test away from the Windies- no one cares for it. Their players are less interested than their fans who number 100s. BD is a difficult one but they have had no impact. Ireland and Afg should never have been given test status and Zim has gone anyway

 

[ElRaja]

9 teams of the WTC are fine. giving ireland and afghanistan test status was a mistake. both teams have played a cumulative 8 tests in 4 years since theyve got test status. australia have played zimbabwe 3 times in 30 years, zim havnt played one of the big three in tests for 7 years.

ravi's point about pathways is bang on, and ive said this before too, teams gain test status when they have an accumulation of 3 or 4 interntional quality players, however there is no guarantee that talent development pathways, which would keep that team competitve exist.

since sri lanka no other team has made the step up to being a competitive test team, thats 40 years and 4 test teams added, of which all 4 together are unlikely to be able to put a test level team together. developing test cricketers requires lots of money and expertise, which makes ireland the most likely team to make that step up, but playing tests is clearly not a priority for them.

sri lanka has 160 test caps, bang and zim between them have 220, yet for those caps i can think of maybe shak, tamim, mushfiq, das, heath streak, andy flower, taylor and murray goodwin as being true test level players. you cant even form a balanced xi from all time players for both teams.

what ravi is willfully misleading, however, is about the idea of six teams and promotion relegation, no chance, if india dropped out the top 6, the big three would play them regardless.

 

[wrongun]

Promotion and relegation system with 2 divisions maybe?

Could that work?

It's been floated before.

The issue is getting any big 3 member to sign up to a faur dinkum promotion/relegation system where they honestly will be relegated to Championship Cricket (or whatever we call Div 2) if they have a poor run.

Any sponsors and broadcasters also need faith in a rock solid product that viewer interest can survive a drop to the next level. The premier league can survive any team dropping down and remain a premium product. What happens if India is relegated? And take the lions share of eyeballs off the top flight?

Imagine Oz board looking at figures for top flight cricket vs England, India etc and being pleased. But they have to weigh up the risk of getting relegated and spending 2 years playing Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Kenya on Boxing Day... They will politely decline to support any such scenario.

I actually like the promotion/relegation idea but can't see it getting past the realpolitik of the big 3.

 

[The Googly]

Keep the traditional test teams. But remove Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Ireland from tests. They add no value to tests whatsoever.

 

[Monsee]

So if Ind & Pak are in the top 6 which they should be they won’t play each down to 4 other teams playing each other on a regular basis.

Can anyone tell me who listens to Shastri.

Sky sports biggest mistake bringing him back to chat garbage once again.

This!

Also, as soon as I read his drunken rumblings, I quickly checked what Pak's Test standing was because it felt as if he is making a case to 'indirectly' try and relegate any teams they would rather not play...and by mere convenience/coincidence, those teams might be down in the rankings (at the implementation of the idea).

Lastly, if they implement these 6 premier Test Nations and kick rest out, guess what, India would fight to get more time to stage the chooran massaala league aka IMPL for months on.

 

[Justcrazy]

Need to change OD format , make it into two blocks of 25 overs

 

[Villager6964]

He is one of the worst commentator ever.He always make these dumb statements.

He is absolute garbage with his idiotic takes.

He should nowhere near the commentary booth.

 

[introvert]

No need for any changes as they are already sidelined.
Except Bangladesh, weaker teams aren't invited or toured that much either.

Cricket Boards in respective countries already know what series are profitable for them so priorities are set accordingly.

There was recent article on the guardian which claims that according to next FTP England is not going to tour west Indies for test cricket until 2027.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

This promotion/relegation system is a bogus idea. Smaller teams already play among themselves most of the time. Taking away whatever little chance they have to potentially get even a match against bigger teams is not smart. It defeats the purpose of giving the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan test status in the first place.

Big 3 boards have already shown that they don't give a damn about these smaller teams. Why are their apologists trying to block whatever chances they may have to play test cricket against other non-Big 3 teams?

 

[gazza619]

Take test away from the Windies- no one cares for it

Yes lets kill the greatest legacy team

 

[Bewal Express]

Yes lets kill the greatest legacy team

I am a fan of their great teams but its not me that's wants them to go. Their players don't like test cricket and they have less fans in the ground than many club matches I have attended.

 

[Bewal Express]

We, as cricket Philes love test cricket but outside England, Australia and Ind, it has no in ground following. One of the reasons is the change in tastes and lifestyle, and stating the obvious, the fans in these countries find it boring. Everyone wants to play the same 3 countries but they only want to play each other for commercial reasons

 

[TheSultan]

Ravi and his “bucks”. Can someone pay him some “bucks” to keep his mouth shut.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Sounds like a PR agent for the BCCI money making machine.

If India only play the top 5/6 teams they will earn the most revenue without having to take time out to play against the smaller nations.

Instead Shastri should grow some courage and demand India to stop using politics and play Pakistan. This will benefit test cricket.

India should not play pakistan. Politics is part of sports. Else why ban Russia from FIFA World Cup?

 

[cricketjoshila]

Test should have a two tier system. Else it will not be viable.

 

[Forum363]

Drastic suggestion.

Keep the top 8-10 teams as is.

And then make a ‘ROW’ team for any high quality players who want to play cricket.

 

[Bewal Express]

The ICC needs to get all the brains trust together to make test cricket more attractive to fans where its struggling. For me its a gonna in the Windies because the players have stopped caring but at least with BD players and fans care. There are a number of things they can do to get fans back in the grounds.
- The ICC should appoint groundman to produce wickets with pace and bounce.
- New ball should be allowed to be taken after 70 overs, new balls bring runs and wickets
- The 2nd new ball should be available after 120 overs
- No stopping for bad light in grounds with lights
- 2 runs for No balls and a free hit.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He needs to cut the number of drinks as well cause his head isn't right.

 

[Saurav]

Elitist mindset. Teams improve only by playing more not less

 

[ElRaja]

Elitist mindset. Teams improve only by playing more not less

simply playing more tests doesnt really make you better. you need a solid economic base, developing test cricketers is expensive, you need an extensive local knowledge base, again developing test cricketers requires a very focussed skill set.

if it was simply a numbers game bangladesh would have developed far more test players in the latter part of the last twenty years. they had a few generational talents in shak, tamim and rahim, and have failed to replace them despite playing significant number of tests since their debuts.

zimbabwe's best players developed when zimbabwean domestic players had access to south african domestic and club scene, despite playing more cricket the quality of their players fell as white flight from zimbabwe severed their connection to south africa, and destroyed the local knowledge base.

 

[PakLFC]

Throw out the jokers of Bangladesh.They are not worthy of Test status.

 

[Markhor]

I return to this plan I outlined several weeks ago - http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...-leagues-and-how-to-fix-bilaterals&highlight=

Test cricket is too expensive to stage with cost burdens not evenly distributed around the world. Take West Indies for example:

The distance from Jamaica to Guyana is roughly similar as London to Moscow ! It's already expensive paying for flights and accomodation across different Caribbean islands as it's a popular holiday location. Add the fact those costs are not offset from gate and broadcast revenues, except against England and India, Test cricket becomes a financial nonstarter.

That constrains the value of the central contracts you can afford leaving players to turn to franchise T20.

If we want all three forms to survive - we must slay some sacred cows. I'll get brickbats for this but 5 Day Tests is an anachronism in today's age. Run Tests like golf tournaments across 4 days from Thu-Sun on result oriented pitches. That's also a cost saving measure.

No bilateral engagements should be longer than 3 matches unless it's one of the marquee series.

 

[Marooned]

It's a daft suggestion. Narrowing top level test cricket and increasing t20 leagues will only go one way. Fewer and fewer players will take up test cricket and you will have less quality players available.

 

[Jazx]

Looks like all such statements coming nowadays from some experts is just to promote payjama t20 leagues. They just wants to make money now. I don't know what exitement people gets in watching a mumbai vs banglore or a lahore vs karachi game,where even the players are also outsiders. They want to kill international cricket.

 

[sweep_shot]

There are really 8 proper Test teams. These 8 teams should have permanent statuses. Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, NZ, Australia, South Africa, England, and West Indies.

Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe should have conditional Test statuses. They should play in a qualifier regularly (along with top associates) to determine if they should keep Test statuses. If any team shows good consistency, that team can be given permanent Test status.

 

[Robert]

Promotion and relegation system with 2 divisions maybe?

Could that work?

Just what I was about to suggest.

Though the Ashes are such a big money-spinner for ECB and CA that there might be serious losses if one side was relegated and the other stayed up.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Shaz and Waz are on a roll these days.

 

[MenInG]

Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri had made a comment saying 10-12 teams cannot be playing the longest format of the game, and in order to ensure that Test cricket remains competitive, only the top five-six teams should play against each other. Now, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has reacted to the suggestion, saying the existing system works fine and he explained his thinking behind the thought process.

Ashwin was speaking on his official YouTube channel and it was there where he spoke about the likes of Ireland and how the smaller countries need to be given chances to play the longest format.

"Recently Ravi Bhai has also said that Test cricket should be made as a format that only 3-4 (sic) nations play. But when 3-4 nations play, teams like Ireland won't get won't get the opportunity to play. You can ask me what's the relation between Test cricket and T20 cricket. Only when you play Test cricket, your first-class structure will get better. And only when your first-class structure is good, people will get more opportunities. And players who do well in first-class cricket mould their game according to T20 cricket. That's how cricket has shaped up," Ashwin said.

"You can see that from the top three strong Test-playing nations, you can add it and make it 4-5 as well. India, England, and Australia, the first-class structure of these nations is extremely strong. In fact, a few are suggesting whether India's first-class structure can be improved further because as we speak, Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar have gone on and done well in county cricket. Likewise, is there an opportunity for foreign players to come and play Ranji Trophy? These questions are also being raised," he said.

Further talking about the same, Ashwin said: " How will you strengthen first-class cricket? For that Test cricket needs to be relevant in your country. If Test cricket is not relevant, they won't play it with full interest. I'm currently in West Indies and here we can see that first-class cricket is almost gone. Because there is no base for first-class cricket. Everything is T20 cricket and leagues, their Test cricket has come down drastically and hence world cricket results are going down. Since the 2016 T20 World Cup, their cricket did not go further. So the foundation of first-class cricket is really important."

NDTV

 

[daytrader]

"Might Only Be Down To 5-6 Nations That Play Tests": Former South Africa Captain
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has suggested that very soon, there may only be five or six countries that will be playing Test cricket

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has suggested that very soon, there may only be five or six countries that will be playing Test cricket. He said that right now, it is the "big cricketing nations" that are contributing to the longest - and oldest - format of the game and that we won't see too many competitive teams. His comments come in the backdrop of the rapid growth of franchise-based T20 leagues across the world. South Africa and UAE have announced new T20 leagues that will begin from next year.

"With Test cricket, it's just iconic nations or the big cricketing nations that are contributing to Test cricket at the moment," Smith was quoted as saying on Sky Sports by news agency PTI.

"But as long as we've got competitive teams, you're not going to have 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14 competitive teams. You might only be down to five or six nations that play Test cricket at this level," he said.

"The pressures on nations like New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa to stay financially sustainable to keep up with England, India, and the world game to stay competitive is hugely important," he concluded.

Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com
Smith's comments came during the third day of the first Test between South Africa and England at Lord's. South Africa thrashed England by an innings and 12 runs to take a 1-0 series lead in the three-match contest.

Graeme Smith is currently the commissioner of Cricket South Africa's new T20 league, which has seen five franchises being bought by the owners of IPL teams.

NDTV

 

[Bewal Express]

If SA are saying that they are indifferent then test cricket is in bigger trouble than I envisaged. Some decisions are easy- Windies test cricket is dead, Zim died nearly 20 years and Ireland has no future so these can go pretty quickly.

 

[Sidilicious]

India should really only play Eng, Aus, NZ and SA on a regular basis. Most other teams don’t event provide s challenge when touring.

Of course, we should tour the other countries for a test series every 4 years and invite them to India every 8 years. This will keep them financially happy.

But no need to play test cricket regularly with them. It simply adds no value. This will free up our time to play the top 4 more often.

 

[light]

Lol as if India or England or Australia even bothers to play teams like Bangladesh, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan. But I guess that's their fault too.

Fair point for BD and Zim. Can't be too harsh on Afg and Ire, they just got their status and have done not too bad since debut. Heck, Afg is doing far better than what BD did after getting their status