Alastair Cook warns Test cricket will soon 'not be viable' as players and fans are lured towards Twenty20
Alastair Cook believes Test cricket will soon “not be viable” due to the financial muscle and dominance of Twenty20 leagues around the world.
Cook, one of the last genuine Test-match specialists left in the game, has spoken on the eve of the Ashes series which will be followed all over the cricketing world.
Test cricket still attracts big audiences in England and Australia but in other countries it is struggling badly and the fear is that more players like South Africa’s AB De Villiers will turn away from five-day cricket for the convenience and financial rewards on offer in Twenty20.
“The game has evolved more quickly than I imagined it would do. Take South Africa v Bangladesh – no-one was watching the game, and soon it [Test cricket] will not be viable. There’s no money in it because that’s all in the T20 leagues – or T10 as it probably will be soon – and we have to be worried about that. That’s my opinion,” said Cook in an interview with the newly-launched Wisden Cricket Monthly magazine.
“T20 is a brilliant game but I think Test cricket is still the ultimate test of all-round skills. There has to be some meaning or context to the game. Somehow linking the three formats is a very good idea and Test cricket has to be subsidised too. Maybe in order for a T20 league to be sanctioned by ICC they have to give some of that money to preserve Test cricket.”
The International Cricket Council confirmed last month the introduction of a Test championship from 2019, with nine teams playing six series over a two-year period - half home, half away. It will culminate in a final, probably at Lord’s. Exact details of points and how the league will work are still to be announced but the ICC has been forced to bring context to Test cricket due to concerns such as those expressed by high-profile figures such as Cook.
Fica, the worldwide players’ union, has warned several times over the past few years that its members are increasingly likely to take the financial rewards on offer in Twenty20 and are honing their short-form skills ahead of Test cricket.
With the Ashes starting on Thursday, Cook, now aged 32, knows he has to try and soak up the experience of playing in Australia admitting it is likely to be his last tour to the country.
“It’s one of the great tours to go on. (Andrew) Strauss said that while he doesn’t miss the saying goodbye, there is jealousy in his eyes,” he said. “This is a bloke who hasn’t played for five years wishing he was on the plane. You do have to appreciate that as a player. I will give myself the odd minute at certain grounds because I’m very unlikely to be there in four years’ time. It’s where we want to be. We don’t get this opportunity very often – to play in front of 40,000 or the MCG in front of 90,000. Rather than shy away from it, look at it as an exciting challenge. Go out and see how good you are.”
Issue 1 of the revived Wisden Cricket Monthly is out now. Get your copy for £1 at wisdensubs.com when quoting offer code 1FOR1X5
