Not rocket science few bn seeing it for awhile remember doing Q&A with Baz and we agreed tests under huge threat…. That was at least 5 yrs ago since then IPL has become a monster of $$ ad players dont see tests as important…
The thing is, the majority of players DO still see Test cricket as important. It's just very hard to commit yourself to playing it if that means slogging away domestic first-class cricket earning 'peanuts' for months if you're the sort of player who's 'good' enough to be earning big cash playing instant cricket. The commitment needs to come from the administrators. That's where the real problem lies. No?
I'm not convinced--although I hear this argument a lot. In the end--hence my post above--I think you have to put your money where your mouth is rather than just mouth platitudes. What does "seeing test cricket as important" mean if you're planning a career trajectory that undermines not only it but its pathways (notably all red-ball cricket and all domestic cricket)?
I agree that it might SEEM quite hard, but then having principles always requires making some kind of sacrifice. While I agree that the administrators need to be more committed, to me the biggest driver of all this is player greed. That might seem blunt, but any player of the standard you're talking about will probably already, except possibly in New Zealand, be earning twice (or more probably a lot more than twice) the median wage in the country they live in--even without a central contract in many countries. So it's essentially a bunch of people who are already rich compared to their fellow citizens complaining because they aren't VERY rich!
"Test cricket is my favourite format but..." is fast becoming cricket's version of "I'm not racist but..."
Ha! Ha! - "Some of my best friends are...Test cricket fans."
Very good Dave, look out for that line appearing in a column down the line!
Not rocket science few bn seeing it for awhile remember doing Q&A with Baz and we agreed tests under huge threat…. That was at least 5 yrs ago since then IPL has become a monster of $$ ad players dont see tests as important…
The thing is, the majority of players DO still see Test cricket as important. It's just very hard to commit yourself to playing it if that means slogging away domestic first-class cricket earning 'peanuts' for months if you're the sort of player who's 'good' enough to be earning big cash playing instant cricket. The commitment needs to come from the administrators. That's where the real problem lies. No?
I'm not convinced--although I hear this argument a lot. In the end--hence my post above--I think you have to put your money where your mouth is rather than just mouth platitudes. What does "seeing test cricket as important" mean if you're planning a career trajectory that undermines not only it but its pathways (notably all red-ball cricket and all domestic cricket)?
I agree that it might SEEM quite hard, but then having principles always requires making some kind of sacrifice. While I agree that the administrators need to be more committed, to me the biggest driver of all this is player greed. That might seem blunt, but any player of the standard you're talking about will probably already, except possibly in New Zealand, be earning twice (or more probably a lot more than twice) the median wage in the country they live in--even without a central contract in many countries. So it's essentially a bunch of people who are already rich compared to their fellow citizens complaining because they aren't VERY rich!
Important but not as important as b4 cementing your future or being remembered as a great( ie the cap) b an interesting survey right now ….!!