This rubbish (Champions Trophy 2017) replaced the Test Championship?

[Junaids]

It's just scandalous.

Today should have been the start of the India v Australia semi-final at The Oval, with the victor to play the winner of next week's England v Pakistan semi for a place in the Final in a fortnight.

Instead because of the taste of the Indian audience, England has to host a meaningless tournament in a format - 50 overs - that we all despise and which few of us would dream of buying a ticket to.

It's very sad.

I could have been watching something historic and meaningful. But instead I'm looking at a brown pitch with even less foliage than there is on my head. I'm going to spend the next fortnight watching Flat Track Bullies post ridiculous scores of over 300 against bowlers who are only allowed to bowl where the batsman can smash them.

 

[Hamza_]

Agreed, Test Championship would have been better watching, Also it's English Summer.

But hold on, Inzi still thinks it's a test championship and we've Azhar and Shehzad to bat overnight.

 

[hadi123]

Agreed, Test Championship would have been better watching, Also it's English Summer.

But hold on, Inzi still thinks it's a test championship and we've Azhar and Shehzad to bat overnight.

lol Azhar Ali and Shehzad we will be 30-1 off 10 overs fgs

 

[Rayyman]

Ewww nobody wants to watch a boring Test tournament

 

[Ellipsism]

Ewww nobody wants to watch a boring Test tournament

Everybody wants to watch bowlers recieve a phainty from bastman who wouldn't last 3 balls if the ball moved an inch.

 

[aniket1911]

As it was to be played between top 4 test teams as per cut off date of 31st December, 2016. I doubt many cricket fans would have loved not seeing there team not featuring in a world competition. CT is better than that last attempt to save a dying format.

 

[Zahid87]

It's just scandalous.

Today should have been the start of the India v Australia semi-final at The Oval, with the victor to play the winner of next week's England v Pakistan semi for a place in the Final in a fortnight.

Instead because of the taste of the Indian audience, England has to host a meaningless tournament in a format - 50 overs - that we all despise and which few of us would dream of buying a ticket to.

It's very sad.

I could have been watching something historic and meaningful. But instead I'm looking at a brown pitch with even less foliage than there is on my head. I'm going to spend the next fortnight watching Flat Track Bullies post ridiculous scores of over 300 against bowlers who are only allowed to bowl where the batsman can smash them.

Equally - because of the taste of the English and Australian audience, we have to hear cricketers pay lip service and talk up a format which, to be honest, not all of them value.

In addition to that, because of the taste of the audience, and the vested interest of the English and Australian boards, cricket cannot have an organized and fair fixture system.

If those boards did not hold the selfish desire to hold such a particular bilateral series, consisting of 5 tests every 1.5/2 years, then we could have the possibility of a league, consiting of home and away matches, and all teams participating. Alas, I suffer from having to watch meaningless bilateral series take place with no consistency nor logic (bar internal politicking) in scheduling.

 

[Junaids]

June 1st in England and after 11 overs, no slip fielders at all.

The format is the same as the brilliant 1975 World Cup in England.

Except that had 60 overs innings, red balls, green pitches, no fielding restrictions and the same wide rule as Test cricket.

Every change has made ODI cricket worse, not better.

 

[Executioner]

ODIs are being murdered by these flat wickets.

280-300 era was best. 300+ is nonsense. Having said that no one really watches test matches these days.

And the fact that there is a chance of a draw makes it worse.

 

[Tusker]

June 1st in England and after 11 overs, no slip fielders at all.

The format is the same as the brilliant 1975 World Cup in England.

Except that had 60 overs innings, red balls, green pitches, no fielding restrictions and the same wide rule as Test cricket.

Every change has made ODI cricket worse, not better.

These are different skills only a select few players can excel in both formats ... unless ofcourse you think the millions upon millions that are die-hard fans of Limited overs cricket are all stupid.

 

[Junaids]

These are different skills only a select few players can excel in both formats ... unless ofcourse you think the millions upon millions that are die-hard fans of Limited overs cricket are all stupid.

Yes I do, actually.

 

[Slog]

Test championship in England would have had two days rained off

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Cricket Purists need to understand that Test Cricket does not make money in the majority of countries.People nowadays are more interested in T20's or ODI's.I personally love Test Cricket but I believe that LOI's,especially T20's is the future.

 

[Executioner]

What is true rubbish is a world cup of 10 teams. How is that a world cup it's like Champions trophy including 2 of the best minnows

 

[Arham_PakFan]

What is true rubbish is a world cup of 10 teams. How is that a world cup it's like Champions trophy including 2 of the best minnows

Exactly,the World Cup should have at least 14 teams divided into 2 groups of 7.We may have a lot of one sided matches but this is necessary for the game.

T20 WC's should have 16 teams in 4 groups of 4,not the qualifier rubbish.

 

[ExpressPacer]

I have no problem with ODIs being the future or whatever you have to say in praise of the shorter formats. It's good, exciting cricket and you have a tournament for it. The World Cup. Heck, you even have Asia cups and a whole bunch of other tournaments. I did even have a problem with the Champions Trophy being an ODI tournament, however, I do have a problem with Champions Trophy being a replacement for a Test championship. We already have a bunch of LOI tournaments, why can't we have a Test Championship?! Doesn't make sense for me personally..

 

[Nikhil_cric]

ODIs are being murdered by these flat wickets.

280-300 era was best. 300+ is nonsense. Having said that no one really watches test matches these days.

And the fact that there is a chance of a draw makes it worse.

Actually ODIs were fine until OZ,England and NZ decided you need 2 balls for a 50 over innings. Completely killed spin and reverse in this format. And yet, you will hear the most complaints about how SC fans have killed cricket in general by folks from the aforementioned nations.

 

[ExpressPacer]

What is true rubbish is a world cup of 10 teams. How is that a world cup it's like Champions trophy including 2 of the best minnows

Exactly. And that's heart breaking because even the minnows are not minnows any longer. World sport is expanding but cricket is making itself more concised. Disappointing stuff.

 

[Tusker]

Yes I do, actually.

Thats because you haven't gotten over the demise of Test Cricket's popularity if limited overs cricket was sooo eaasy Cook would be playing in CT. Instead he has to make do with watching his buddy's on TV.

Me personally I like all formats.

 

[Junaids]

Actually ODIs were fine until OZ,England and NZ decided you need 2 balls for a 50 over innings. Completely killed spin and reverse in this format. And yet, you will hear the most complaints about how SC fans have killed cricket in general by folks from the aforementioned nations.

No.

The ODI format was ruined by white balls and the reduction from 60 to 50 overs. And fielding restrictions.

The beauty of Kapil Dev's 175 not out was that Zimbabwe had reduced India to 19-5 first.

That can't happen any more. The opening bowlers can't bowl three spells of 6, 3 and 3 overs. The ball has no seam. You can't combine three slips, a gully and fielders to close the gaps.

 

[Aman]

ODIs are really boring these days.

 

[Junaids]

Thats because you haven't gotten over the demise of Test Cricket's popularity if limited overs cricket was sooo eaasy Cook would be playing in CT. Instead he has to make do with watching his buddy's on TV.

Me personally I like all formats.

What demise?

I don't care what Indians watch for sport or any other entertainment. I really couldn't care less.

But I do know that in Australia (where I live) and England (where I'm from) Test cricket is the strongest format.

 

[Tusker]

What demise?

I don't care what Indians watch for sport or any other entertainment. I really couldn't care less.

Well you should ... they own the game now. Hard fact for you to acknowledge but it is a reality

But I do know that in Australia (where I live) and England (where I'm from) Test cricket is the strongest format.

You might not know this .... but more people actually turn out to watch Test Cricket in India than in those 2 countries.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

No.

The ODI format was ruined by white balls and the reduction from 60 to 50 overs. And fielding restrictions.

The beauty of Kapil Dev's 175 not out was that Zimbabwe had reduced India to 19-5 first.

That can't happen any more. The opening bowlers can't bowl three spells of 6, 3 and 3 overs. The ball has no seam. You can't combine three slips, a gully and fielders to close the gaps.

Introduction of white ball did not kill ODI cricket . In fact, the golden age if 90's ODI cricket was played primarily with white ball. Are you saying the likes of Wasim,Damien Fleming and a host of others did not swing the white kookaburra back then. In fact , bowlers have even claimed the white ball swung more than the red ball back then.

Anyway the introduction of the white ball happened in Australia to facilitate games played at night. This was actually good for cricket viwership. The quality of the white kookaburra then deteriorated over the years with bowlers barely getting any movement unless the conditions were exceptionally good for bowling or while bowling under lights in the 2nd innings. The only thing that kept batsmen in check in the later overs was spin and reverse swing.

ICC seems to have an unhealthy relationship with Kookaburra. Instead of ensuring that kookaburra produces balls of a higher quality, they allowed them to produce the same garbage except now we have two of them from either end - a decision which has been vehemently opposed by BCCI and the Asian bloc. All of this supposedly to bring back balance between bat and ball when in fact the opposite has been happening as seen in the last World Cup.

 

[Markhor]

ODIs are being murdered by these flat wickets.

280-300 era was best. 300+ is nonsense.

Agreed. When you see teams batting first racking up 350-400 scores it makes the match too predictable as you know the chasing team will inevitably buckle under scoreboard pressure.

Bowlers face way too many obstacles in the ODI format. There's nothing for them in the pitches, the white Kookaburras don't swing, two new balls eliminates reverse swing, free hits after every no ball, limits on bouncers, balls going even an inch down the legside is called a wide yet batsmen can move wherever they want at the crease, and fielding restrictions throughout the 50 overs.

I'm not calling for a return to the era where 210-220 was a good score. Obviously people want to see big hitting in ODIs. I'm sure even if you relaxed the rules for bowlers, the good batsmen will still be able to thrive as modern batsmen are better at striking the ball and willing to take more risks than ever before.

But let's restore some balance as the best matches involve a fair contest between bat and ball.

 

[USofA]

What demise?

I don't care what Indians watch for sport or any other entertainment. I really couldn't care less.

But I do know that in Australia (where I live) and England (where I'm from) Test cricket is the strongest format.

That's only two teams. Both playing repeatedly will get old pretty soon. For the rest of them (with exception of NZ) tests are a loss making proposition. Test cricket needs all test playing countries to be robust in tests to keep Ashes interesting.

By default we have to turn to the incompetent ICC to come up with ideas to turn around test cricket.

 

[Junaids]

Well you should ... they own the game now. Hard fact for you to acknowledge but it is a reality



You might not know this .... but more people actually turn out to watch Test Cricket in India than in those 2 countries.

I do believe you!

But for the Ashes Test at Adelaide, my pair of tickets each day cost $250 - that's $1000 I paid for 4 days.

My hotel cost me $2200 for five nights.

It's just not like that with India. In fact they delay scheduling so late that you can't easily arrange to travel to the cricket there.

 

[Junaids]

Introduction of white ball did not kill ODI cricket . In fact, the golden age if 90's ODI cricket was played primarily with white ball. Are you saying the likes of Wasim,Damien Fleming and a host of others did not swing the white kookaburra back then. In fact , bowlers have even claimed the white ball swung more than the red ball back then.

Anyway the introduction of the white ball happened in Australia to facilitate games played at night. This was actually good for cricket viwership. The quality of the white kookaburra then deteriorated over the years with bowlers barely getting any movement unless the conditions were exceptionally good for bowling or while bowling under lights in the 2nd innings. The only thing that kept batsmen in check in the later overs was spin and reverse swing.

ICC seems to have an unhealthy relationship with Kookaburra. Instead of ensuring that kookaburra produces balls of a higher quality, they allowed them to produce the same garbage except now we have two of them from either end - a decision which has been vehemently opposed by BCCI and the Asian bloc. All of this supposedly to bring back balance between bat and ball when in fact the opposite has been happening as seen in the last World Cup.

Agreed. When you see teams batting first racking up 350-400 scores it makes the match too predictable as you know the chasing team will inevitably buckle under scoreboard pressure.

Bowlers face way too many obstacles in the ODI format. There's nothing for them in the pitches, the white Kookaburras don't swing, two new balls eliminates reverse swing, free hits after every no ball, limits on bouncers, balls going even an inch down the legside is called a wide yet batsmen can move wherever they want at the crease, and fielding restrictions throughout the 50 overs.

I'm not calling for a return to the era where 210-220 was a good score. Obviously people want to see big hitting in ODIs. I'm sure even if you relaxed the rules for bowlers, the good batsmen will still be able to thrive as modern batsmen are better at striking the ball and willing to take more risks than ever before.

But let's restore some balance as the best matches involve a fair contest between bat and ball.

Brilliant posts, my friends!

 

[Executioner]

Actually ODIs were fine until OZ,England and NZ decided you need 2 balls for a 50 over innings. Completely killed spin and reverse in this format. And yet, you will hear the most complaints about how SC fans have killed cricket in general by folks from the aforementioned nations.

Got to agree.

That two ball rule killed it for the bowlers

At the end of 40 overs the ball is 20 overs old only. Still hard and easy to be struck.

Also spinners who flighted the ball like Shakib, Abdur Rehman, Ojha became less effective. Darters like Jadeja Tahir Zampa became effective or if you had variation like Ashwin or Narine you can still survive.

 

[Hamza_]

Introduction of white ball did not kill ODI cricket . In fact, the golden age if 90's ODI cricket was played primarily with white ball. Are you saying the likes of Wasim,Damien Fleming and a host of others did not swing the white kookaburra back then. In fact , bowlers have even claimed the white ball swung more than the red ball back then.

Anyway the introduction of the white ball happened in Australia to facilitate games played at night. This was actually good for cricket viwership. The quality of the white kookaburra then deteriorated over the years with bowlers barely getting any movement unless the conditions were exceptionally good for bowling or while bowling under lights in the 2nd innings. The only thing that kept batsmen in check in the later overs was spin and reverse swing.

ICC seems to have an unhealthy relationship with Kookaburra. Instead of ensuring that kookaburra produces balls of a higher quality, they allowed them to produce the same garbage except now we have two of them from either end - a decision which has been vehemently opposed by BCCI and the Asian bloc. All of this supposedly to bring back balance between bat and ball when in fact the opposite has been happening as seen in the last World Cup.

Some fabulous points. We really need to scrap these two new balls.

 

[czar]

ODIs are really boring these days.

Yes and Tests are dso exciting, even the Americans and Spanish have starred to take interest in it.

 

[Tusker]

No.

The ODI format was ruined by white balls and the reduction from 60 to 50 overs. And fielding restrictions.

60 over cricket was mainly played in Eng ... except for 4 or 5 games in Aus+ NZ. Never in Asia ! So it cannot possibly be a benchmark for any success. Do you think Timeless Test matches were the best thing to happen to cricket ... lol

The beauty of Kapil Dev's 175 not out was that Zimbabwe had reduced India to 19-5 first.

That can't happen any more. The opening bowlers can't bowl three spells of 6, 3 and 3 overs. The ball has no seam. You can't combine three slips, a gully and fielders to close the gaps.

Did you watch Stoinis' amazing inngs recently ?

The beauty of Cricket is that it has space to accommodate all sorts ... but sadly the English just don't get this. Too uptight and uppity for their own good... This is why Cricket never became the popular sport in England.

 

[USofA]

ODIs are really boring these days.

Yet ICC decides to have an ODI tournament over a test championship.

 

[hafeezrocks]

Test Cricket is boring and an old man's game. I'm do glad that it was scrapped and remains scrapped forever.

 

[Zak_Fan]

It's just scandalous.

Today should have been the start of the India v Australia semi-final at The Oval, with the victor to play the winner of next week's England v Pakistan semi for a place in the Final in a fortnight.

Instead because of the taste of the Indian audience, England has to host a meaningless tournament in a format - 50 overs - that we all despise and which few of us would dream of buying a ticket to.

It's very sad.

I could have been watching something historic and meaningful. But instead I'm looking at a brown pitch with even less foliage than there is on my head. I'm going to spend the next fortnight watching Flat Track Bullies post ridiculous scores of over 300 against bowlers who are only allowed to bowl where the batsman can smash them.

What kind of a joke Championship is it when one of the sides only made it because they were hiding in their fortress for 5 years?

Test Championship would be Step 2. Step 1 needed is to set a level playing field, where all teams play and tour each other as often.

 

[USofA]

What kind of a joke Championship is it when one of the sides only made it because they were hiding in their fortress for 5 years?

Test Championship would be Step 2. Step 1 needed is to set a level playing field, where all teams play and tour each other as often.

The problem with the Test Championship though is it will not pay the bills for the freeloaders Zim, WI, SL et all. ODI tournaments pay the bills for the ICC and the freeloaders. Which is exactly why we have the Champions trophy instead of a test championship.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Some fabulous points. We really need to scrap these two new balls.

Just trying to point out that India and the SC teams/fans are being unfairly blamed for the decline in quality of cricket.

1. Australian batsmen were the ones to use these modern monster bats.

2. All this talk of cricketing traditions being upheld by only OZ/England is completely untrue. ODI's and T20's were first given importance in OZ and England respectively. BCCI was the last board to take T20's seriously and was if IIRC criticised for not doing so and we had played the least T20's before the 1st World T20. Only after the threat from Subhash Chandra's ICL did they come up with IPL and even nobody could have guessed that it would be so successful.

India was the last country to abandon red ball ODIs. All our bilateral ODI series at home were in whites with red balls till 2001 - long after OZ and England had abandoned them.

Yet somehow it is because of Indian viewers that cricketing traditions are being affected apparently

 

[Zak_Fan]

The problem with the Test Championship though is it will not pay the bills for the freeloaders Zim, WI, SL et all. ODI tournaments pay the bills for the ICC and the freeloaders. Which is exactly why we have the Champions trophy instead of a test championship.

You are right, but I am talking from a so called "real" Cricket fan's perspective. Some would have preferred to see a Test Championship being played right now, but what they suggest is nothing but a farce. Cricket needs drastic changes in it's structure for 3 to 4 years before we can even start dreaming of a meaningful Test Championship.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Who is going to watch the test championship? Nobody gives a **** about test cricket outside England and Aus. Test cricket has no place in 21st century

 

[USofA]

Who is going to watch the test championship? Nobody gives a **** about test cricket outside England and Aus. Test cricket has no place in 21st century

Absolutely spot on! Tests cannot stand on its own legs anywhere except Eng, Aus. It's the ODI's that pay for tests. Yet people just want to scrap ODI's and have more tests the "premier" format. No talk about how to pay for them.

The test championship is a non starter until the ICC figures out a way to at least break even. Forget about scrapping the champions trophy any time soon. It's pipe dream for the "premier" format lovers. The freeloaders need $$$. The ICC ODI tournaments give them that.

 

[Junaids]

What a load of rubbish.

A pitch with straw instead of grass, and England and Bangladesh collectively made 613-8 in 97 overs.

Life is too short to waste it on this.

 

[captain crook]

What a load of rubbish.

A pitch with straw instead of grass, and England and Bangladesh collectively made 613-8 in 97 overs.

Life is too short to waste it on this.

You're free to not watch it. Just don't create random threads and whine. Some of us guys watch this with interest. Please don't lecture us on 'good cricket' and 'bad cricket'.

 

[Mamoon]

A Test Championship will be flop in the subcontinent. People will turn up in the grounds in England, but the TV numbers will not be great because 90% of the viewers in Asia do not Test cricket, and the prospect of a three match Championship will not create a buzz like the Champions Trophy, which is a tournament that has always been enjoyed by people in this part of the world because it is a high-octane tournament full of action-packed matches.

The ICC is a for-profit organization and it cannot cater to the needs of the 10% cricket nerds who prefer to - and have the time - watch Test cricket over Limited Overs cricket.

I would personally love to see a Test Championship, but that is because I enjoy all three formats of the game in equal measure. All three formats are here to stay, and they bring something different to the table. The skills in one format are not necessarily transferable to the other format, and the co-existence makes cricket more interesting and entertaining. However, I am a big fan of the Champions Trophy as well and I am glad that the ICC did not kill it.

 

[MMHS]

It's just scandalous.

Today should have been the start of the India v Australia semi-final at The Oval, with the victor to play the winner of next week's England v Pakistan semi for a place in the Final in a fortnight.

Instead because of the taste of the Indian audience, England has to host a meaningless tournament in a format - 50 overs - that we all despise and which few of us would dream of buying a ticket to.

It's very sad.

I could have been watching something historic and meaningful. But instead I'm looking at a brown pitch with even less foliage than there is on my head. I'm going to spend the next fortnight watching Flat Track Bullies post ridiculous scores of over 300 against bowlers who are only allowed to bowl where the batsman can smash them.

I would have loved to see Test Championship; but not in exchange of CT. Actually, every format has its demand & uniqueness.

However, I do agree with you - the ODI game actually has become almost a torture to watch. My baptism in cricket was in late 80s & I throughly enjoyed ODI in that era - from 1987 to around 2006; when the game was between bat & ball. On a good wicket, around 250 per ODI match between two even sides can be as exciting as a T20 & as dramatic as a 15th sesson finish (Test). Sadly, they tried to hatch multiple eggs in a day by stimulating steroids, hence it has formed a cancer.

Instead of 613/8 in 98 overs; this match would have been an epic for say 500/16, in 99 overs.

 

[aloo paratha]

If only the pitches were better everything would be 5038294 times better. This type of cricket is boring to watch. Runs, runs runs and... More runs.

350 totals will kill ODIs imo. 270-300 is a balanced total where I'm not just going to be seeing six after six, maybe a four in between.

 

[Mainul]

To those who are saying that test cricket are boring:If you were a spectators of test cricket,you would have found very interestingly that test cricket presented to us more thrillers than ODIs and T20s have in last few years.Many tests were decided in last sessions on 5th day,until that the game changed from session to session and no one could predict who is going to win.Latest example is the last test between Pakistan vs West Indies.

ODIs have really become predictable with uneven contest between bat and ball over the years.300 plus scores are being chased on merrily.We won't be able see again a match like world cup final 1983,1992,Tendulker majic with the ball in Hero cup final,All rounder Imran Khan's karishma in Neheru cup final,romantic finish of Australesia cup final,1 run thriller of Waqar Younis in Sharjah cup.These ODIs are dreams now.In fact ,ODIs have started to leave a bad impact on tests;flat road like ODI pitches are being used in tests to lengthen the match up to 5 days.Yet,even these test pitches are creating suspense as even flat tracks start to deteriorate on 4th day.

In this regard one can say that old is gold.Modernization of cricket has done more bads than goods.Still,test cricket has not died.It still keeping the life of cricket viable.

 

[Buffet]

It's just scandalous.

Today should have been the start of the India v Australia semi-final at The Oval, with the victor to play the winner of next week's England v Pakistan semi for a place in the Final in a fortnight.

Instead because of the taste of the Indian audience, England has to host a meaningless tournament in a format - 50 overs - that we all despise and which few of us would dream of buying a ticket to.

It's very sad.

I could have been watching something historic and meaningful. But instead I'm looking at a brown pitch with even less foliage than there is on my head. I'm going to spend the next fortnight watching Flat Track Bullies post ridiculous scores of over 300 against bowlers who are only allowed to bowl where the batsman can smash them.

Do you realize that Eng wanted to host it and many countries would have gladly hosted it.

 

[Coconut]

Glad to see that ICC has decided to carry on with a competitive tournament like Champions Trophy instead of replacing it with a rubbish idea like test championship.


Test cricket has to be the most overrated and boring format out of all three formats which requires comparatively less skill than odis. This form of cricket is so much dependent on pitches and conditions that it will be an absolute disaster if ICC ever replaces a prestigious and fan favorite tournament like CT with a rubbish like test championship.

 

[squarecut]

The problem with the Test Championship though is it will not pay the bills for the freeloaders Zim, WI, SL et all. ODI tournaments pay the bills for the ICC and the freeloaders. Which is exactly why we have the Champions trophy instead of a test championship.

Indeed, that is the reason for all these ICC tournaments, mostly being organised to fill the coffers of ECB as well as others, except BCCI, by using BCCI as their slave. It is no coincidence that this tournament is being used in England (when it was supposed to have run its course in 2013 itself).

 

[abughio]

With these type of wickets. Odi wont survive long.. there is seriously no competition between bat and ball

 

[Junaids]

Do you realize that Eng wanted to host it and many countries would have gladly hosted it.

No, England wanted to host the World Test Championship.

Semi-Final 1: The Oval - India v Australia
Semi-Final 2: Lords - England v Pakistan
The Final: Lords - either
a) England v Australia
b) India v Pakistan
c) England v India
d) Australia v Pakistan

It got cancelled and we ended up with this garbage instead.

The format could be really good - a lot less pointless matches than at the World Cup - if only for the fact that these games are boring Flat Track Bully snoozefests.

 

[LastManstanding]

No, England wanted to host the World Test Championship.

Semi-Final 1: The Oval - India v Australia
Semi-Final 2: Lords - England v Pakistan
The Final: Lords - either
a) England v Australia
b) India v Pakistan
c) England v India
d) Australia v Pakistan

It got cancelled and we ended up with this garbage instead.

The format could be really good - a lot less pointless matches than at the World Cup - if only for the fact that these games are boring Flat Track Bully snoozefests.

Next time ask your beloved sky or channel 9 to bid more for icc tournaments so that they can pressurize icc into cancelling CT and introducing test championship.

 

[Specialisttailender]

Who is going to watch the test championship? Nobody gives a **** about test cricket outside England and Aus. Test cricket has no place in 21st century

By the time Test championship arrives most of "purists" would be dead and long gone.

 

[CricFan2012]

No one would have watched the test championships, this was a good move.

Off topic but why is group B so easy? India and South Africa got it made with weak Sri Lankan and Pakistan sides.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

By the time Test championship arrives most of "purists" would be dead and long gone.

90% of the purists will be dead in next 15 years, the younger ones who say test cricket is real cricket are just edgy hipsters who probably have never watch more than an hour of test match and regurgitate all their knowledge from cricinfo live scorecard.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Glad to see that ICC has decided to carry on with a competitive tournament like Champions Trophy instead of replacing it with a rubbish idea like test championship.


Test cricket has to be the most overrated and boring format out of all three formats which requires comparatively less skill than odis. This form of cricket is so much dependent on pitches and conditions that it will be an absolute disaster if ICC ever replaces a prestigious and fan favorite tournament like CT with a rubbish like test championship.

The fact that this tripe of format is played over 5 days and you either have to be either mentally handicapped or unemployed/extremely bored disqualifies it from being competitive sport. Nobody has time to watch test match unless you meet the mentioned criterias, all edgy purists spew their crap from cricinfo scorecard and never watch any match for more than a few hours

 

[pillionrider]

Today should have been the start of the India v Australia semi-final at The Oval, with the victor to play the winner of next week's England v Pakistan semi for a place in the Final in a fortnight.

All these years living in Australia and being 'from England', but can't go beyond the fantasy India vs Pakistan final.

What's that? You actually meant Australia vs England?

Silly me.

 

[czar]

What a load of rubbish.

A pitch with straw instead of grass, and England and Bangladesh collectively made 613-8 in 97 overs.

Life is too short to waste it on this.

Funny coming from fan of a Format which involves wasting 5 days over something where nothing happens . 5 freaking days of TukTuk.

Even people in third world backward countries don't watch the crap called Test Cricket.

 

[czar]

Who is going to watch the test championship? Nobody gives a **** about test cricket outside England and Aus. Test cricket has no place in 21st century

The OP wants to watch it which is fine but the problem is he wants other fans to watch only what he likes.

These elitists want to watch their bankrupt Test format and expect the Asians to pay bills for sustaining the failed venture. They expect all the revenue that is generated from Odis and T20s to keep the Test Cricket alive and relevant. Then the narrow minded elitists also want to take digs at fans of shorter formats for having a different taste.

 

[pillionrider]

The OP wants to watch it which is fine but the problem is he wants other fans to watch only what he likes.

These elitists want to watch their bankrupt Test format and expect the Asians to pay bills for sustaining the failed venture. They expect all the revenue that is generated from Odis and T20s to keep the Test Cricket alive and relevant. Then the narrow minded elitists also want to take digs at fans of shorter formats for having a different taste.

The level of hypocrisy from fans and the establishment in these countries is nauseating. Time and again we have seen these custodians of the 'essence of cricket' do the very things they mocked and sneered at.

Embarrassing opening ceremonies, wagging their tails shamelessly at the sight of wads of money, elitist commentators cheerily taking sponsor names during commentary (recall the snobbery regarding DLF maximums), cricket boards dictating what commentators cannot talk about (during the KP saga after loud derision of Gavaskar and Shastri's alleged contracts with the BCCI). The list is endless and pathetic.

 

[Junaids]

The fact that this tripe of format is played over 5 days and you either have to be either mentally handicapped or unemployed/extremely bored disqualifies it from being competitive sport. Nobody has time to watch test match unless you meet the mentioned criterias, all edgy purists spew their crap from cricinfo scorecard and never watch any match for more than a few hours

Last summer I went to the Adelaide Test - for which I took a week off work - and three days of the Brisbane Test, which was a Day/Night Test so I could work Thursday morning and took Friday off. I also went to the final of the Copa America football in New Jersey.

I think the issue may not so much be unemployment as the fact that Asians still endure Victorian working conditions and unlike me don't get 10 weeks off on full pay each year.

Next southern summer I'm going to the Adelaide Test, the Durban Test and the Port Elizabeth Test.

The issue with Test cricket is that it works best as a Day/Night match. There's basically no difference between a Day/Night Test and 5 ODI's, except that one of them is interesting and the other is formulaic and pointless.

 

[Junaids]

The OP wants to watch it which is fine but the problem is he wants other fans to watch only what he likes.

These elitists want to watch their bankrupt Test format and expect the Asians to pay bills for sustaining the failed venture. They expect all the revenue that is generated from Odis and T20s to keep the Test Cricket alive and relevant. Then the narrow minded elitists also want to take digs at fans of shorter formats for having a different taste.

It's completely the opposite of what you describe.

The BCCI is insolvent without welfare handouts from the ICC.

It turns out that we Test fans in Australia, England and New Zealand keep our Boards solvent.

India and Pakistan's masses of ODI and T20 fans deliver virtually nothing to their insolvent Boards, who rely upon welfare handouts from us.

 

[pillionrider]

I think the issue may not so much be unemployment as the fact that Asians still endure Victorian working conditions and unlike me don't get 10 weeks off on full pay each year.

Well, not everyone is a privileged 'Doctor' with lots of white friends.

 

[Junaids]

The level of hypocrisy from fans and the establishment in these countries is nauseating. Time and again we have seen these custodians of the 'essence of cricket' do the very things they mocked and sneered at.

Embarrassing opening ceremonies, wagging their tails shamelessly at the sight of wads of money, elitist commentators cheerily taking sponsor names during commentary (recall the snobbery regarding DLF maximums), cricket boards dictating what commentators cannot talk about (during the KP saga after loud derision of Gavaskar and Shastri's alleged contracts with the BCCI). The list is endless and pathetic.

Very true.

And Exhibit A is the repellent Giles Clarke with his criminal chum Allen Stanford, who even got to pinch the bottom of the England wicketkeeper's wife in return for giving the ECB some of his stolen millions.

 

[yasir]

These are different skills only a select few players can excel in both formats ... unless ofcourse you think the millions upon millions that are die-hard fans of Limited overs cricket are all stupid.

Billions of people eat Junk food, that does not make it better. Millions of people read cheap romance digest/novels and not real literature, masala movies are more popular, timeless Art is less appreciated, masses don't appreciate or understand Science, not everything is based on democratic norms. Reality is most good things are rare and less understood or appreciated, popularity is not the criteria...

Cricket is nothing without test cricket, if governing bodies only think about immediate returns, they are short sighted and are killing the soul of this game...ODI cricket rules change every five years, because they get boring, test cricket is timeless, not much change in 140 years, a good test match still beats every format hands down!!

 

[yasir]

One of the reason, test cricket is dead in Asia, because most of the test in Asia are one sided affair, Imagine if SA never plays in AUS, which is the only team that can give fight to AUS at home. POMs can at times give them fight when AUS team is going through generational transition, but mostly they fail.

Pakistan and India has not played a 4/5 test match series in 3 decades, which can really be clash of titans in asian conditions, because both have expertise of asian environment. When you don't have real test series for decades, test cricket is bound to get no boring in those countries. When they go to west most of the time, they get hammered, they hammered western teams at home as well. Its rare for asian fans to see good series.

 

[Rafa]

One of the reason, test cricket is dead in Asia, because most of the test in Asia are one sided affair, Imagine if SA never plays in AUS, which is the only team that can give fight to AUS at home. POMs can at times give them fight when AUS team is going through generational transition, but mostly they fail.

Pakistan and India has not played a 4/5 test match series in 3 decades, which can really be clash of titans in asian conditions, because both have expertise of asian environment. When you don't have real test series for decades, test cricket is bound to get no boring in those countries. When they go to west most of the time, they get hammered, they hammered western teams at home as well. Its rare for asian fans to see good series.

Test Cricket is simply boring, let's not make excuses for it. 99 people out of a 100 in England hate it too and consider it a waste of time. The remaining one percent are those who make up for the audience in the stands.

There is simply no joy in seeing balls being left over to the WK and doing tuk tuk for 5 days. What do you want to watch? A 30 overs session with 50 runs scored? Or 200 runs scored in Days play with 400 dot balls? Is a normal viewer expected to enjoy these dot balls? Misbah's 0 ( 50) quality test knock?

 

[Couch Cricketer]

The India pakistan Champions trophy match will have more viewers than the combined total of an Ashes series.
So yeah test are more important to cricket watchers

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

This is just so boring!!

Short boundaries, flat pitches, pathetic kookabura white balls. There is just no balance between bat and ball.

Gulli danda is better watching than this.

 

[czar]

Don't worry, let Pakistan play. Every pitch would look like a minefield.

 

[captain crook]

About time our cricketers and fans come out of 1992 mindset. Welcome to cricket in 2017!

 

[Syed1]

Pathetic from ICC. Why even have bowlers, just have a bowling machine and let the batsmen whack it to all parts.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

About time our cricketers and fans come out of 1992 mindset. Welcome to cricket in 2017!

It is not about 1992 , 2017 or 2050. It is about quality of cricket. Do you really enjoy it?

 

[fazleefridi]

Don't worry, let Pakistan play. Every pitch would look like a minefield.

True, that. Haha

 

[captain crook]

It is not about 1992 , 2017 or 2050. It is about quality of cricket. Do you really enjoy it?

Tell me what you want. It's not about me enjoying. The general public has embraced this. Advent of T20 has changed rules and the way cricket is played. Eve test cricket has changed. You will always find people who will dislike whatever you do. In this case, majority of people like this. That is the reality.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Tell me what you want. It's not about me enjoying. The general public has embraced this. Advent of T20 has changed rules and the way cricket is played. Eve test cricket has changed. You will always find people who will dislike whatever you do. In this case, majority of people like this. That is the reality.

Yar I can assure you general public isnt liking it much too. t20 is 20 overs, this is torture for bowling for 50 overs. Everything is in the favor of batsmen, nothing like a contest between bat and ball here. Atleast kuch to ho bowlers k liye.

 

[captain crook]

Yar I can assure you general public isnt liking it much too. t20 is 20 overs, this is torture for bowling for 50 overs. Everything is in the favor of batsmen, nothing like a contest between bat and ball here. Atleast kuch to ho bowlers k liye.

What assurance? My friends are enjoying this. The people I know are eagerly waiting for June 4th and the tournament is general to unfold. Heck, there are a lot of resident posters here who are excited for this. How can you 'assure' me that general public is not liking this? Seems too convenient, isn't it?

 

[Junaids]

789 runs for 10 wickets so far.

Wallpaper for the intellectually challenged.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

What assurance? My friends are enjoying this. The people I know are eagerly waiting for June 4th and the tournament is general to unfold. Heck, there are a lot of resident posters here who are excited for this. How can you 'assure' me that general public is not liking this? Seems too convenient, isn't it?

My friends are not enjoying this what is happening right now. Timeline is filled with posts against ICC and this joke what is happening right now.
Yes people are looking forward to Ind - Pak but not because of this one sided bat game.

Hope tournament gets better from now and we at-least see slightest of contest between bat and ball.

 

[ar2020]

Cricket Purists need to understand that Test Cricket does not make money in the majority of countries.People nowadays are more interested in T20's or ODI's.I personally love Test Cricket but I believe that LOI's,especially T20's is the future.

Get that garbage outta here!!! T20s? Interested in T20s lol? T20s are the future lol? That format is the biggest waste of time from any of them.

It's like watching a soccer match with the pitch a quarter of the size and nets 5 times bigger. Yay the score is 50-47! Every ball going for a boundry defeats the purpose and allowing teams to have 10 wickets LOL for just 20 overs is silly. It's like baseball allowing 12 outs per inning instead of 3 LOL. The balance is so wrong in T20s.