Former England national cricket team captain Michael Vaughan has put forward five important suggestions to save Test cricket. According to him, the International Cricket Council should adopt the suggestion he provided as he believes there should be a separate window for it.
The increasing emergence of T20 leagues has put the future of Test cricket in question. Cricket lovers prefer to watch T20 cricket instead of the longer format of the game which takes more time and lasts for five days.
In the recent Test match between England and Sri Lanka at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, the seats were empty and not many people turned up for the match. On the other hand, during the Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh, almost the entire stadium in Rawalpindi was empty.
Some pundits in the game have expressed their concerns about the future of Test cricket and one of them has been Michael Vaughan. The former England star has been very vocal about this and has often raised his voice to save Test cricket.
In his column for the Telegraph, Michael Vaughan pointed out the empty seats during the Lord’s Test and claimed that this should be a wake-up call for Test lovers. He also admitted that crowds are comparatively smaller in matches with weaker teams than in the matches against India and Australia. He stated:
“Administrators have been slow to realise that this summer. We saw thousands of empty seats at Lord’s last Sunday. MCC have acknowledged they got things very wrong and failed to read the situation on what the right price would be for a match against Sri Lanka in September. The Oval is unlikely to be much better on day four, and their job is made all the harder by the fact it’s a Friday when school term starts and the weather is getting worse.
“I hope this summer is something of a wake-up call for all Test cricket fans in England. I hope we continue to talk about these issues. But, let’s be honest, we’ve been through this before. We’ve had poor crowds towards the end of matches against weaker opponents, and we’ve lamented the situation. But then the following summer, India and Australia are in town, and the stadiums are packed with tickets being sold at very high prices. And we carry on.”
Michael Vaughan proposes five key suggestions to save Test cricket
With Test cricket’s popularity on the decline, Michael Vaughan has proposed five points that could help Test cricket survive. The first suggestion made by the former England player was that Test cricket should have two divisions of six teams each.
Vaughan stressed that teams should be placed in two divisions based on their pedigree and after analysing performances, the team in the second division should be given promotion. He said:
“The first thing I would do is look at two divisions of six for Test cricket. At the moment, there are too many lopsided matches between teams that have very different resources, backgrounds and preparation. The best Test match in this area this summer was Ireland versus Zimbabwe in Northern Ireland because they were two very evenly matched teams and it was competitive.”
“It wouldn’t be ideal for second-tier teams, but I would have promotion and relegation every two years, while also crowning a Test champion. That would provide incentives to play, as would the ICC’s proposed fund to help raise match fees.”
Michael Vaughan also suggested that the ICC should distribute funding equally for Test cricket. According to him, this will help in the development of players around the world. He added:
“If ICC funding was shared more evenly, it could create avenues for the development of top-class players. England have great avenues at the moment, as do India and Australia. Countries like Sri Lanka and the West Indies rely on raw talent, which they still have in abundance, but that can only take you so far.”
Vaughan also wants a separate three-month window for Test cricket. He stressed that during that period all teams should play each other. He explained:
“I would set aside three one-month windows in the calendar where there is no franchise cricket, so Test cricket is the only show in town. Hopefully that would persuade some players to keep playing Test cricket rather than just sticking to franchise stuff all year round. In those windows, I would have all the teams playing at the same time. Possibly, towards the end of a cycle, that could mean everyone playing simultaneously in the same country or on the same continent.”
Michael Vaughan also wants to have four-day Tests with 96 overs per day. He also stated that if there are bad spots of light, a pink ball should be used. He added:
“I would make some smaller changes. I wouldn’t be afraid to use four-day Tests when necessary, with 96 overs per day. And if teams are struggling to bowl their overs, penalise them with runs and make them stay on the pitch until they are finished.”
“If the light is bad, change the ball to a pink one. We now see the red ball being changed regularly, so why not change it to a pink ball of similar age? It seems to me that the game is too eager to stop being played and that all decisions are made with the players in mind, not the paying spectators.”
The final point Michael Vaughan suggested was that he wants to end bilateral white-ball cricket and stated that only World Cups should be played. He elaborated:
“I would consider phasing out bilateral white-ball cricket outside of the World Cups and the period immediately before. Every country wants a top-class franchise competition as a source of revenue, but I don’t see how this can co-exist with a healthy bilateral calendar. Just look at the fact that England now play white-ball matches well into September,” he concluded.
