Former Australia batsman Dean Jones has reiterated that international cricket is in need of a longer format World Cup and four-day Test matches to keep fans engrossed in the game which has lost its charm – it used to have in the recent years.
“We need a Test World Cup. We need meaning and purpose behind Test cricket. Test cricket is in a bit of a pickle…what do these Test series mean? They mean nothing,” said Jones quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
The 55-year-old former top-order batsman has been following the game as a coach particularly in limited-overs domestic leagues for different countries.
“I think we need a Test World Cup. We need meaning and purpose behind Test cricket. The future tours program will be finished by 2019…2020 we will surely have to have a World T20, so that means a Test World Cup could be held in 2021,” Jones added.
“Five-day (Tests) is way too long, it can’t keep people’s attention. The game is based around TV, if you don’t hold them for four hours then you’re in trouble. If you look at all the great sports events around the world, they are built for TV…for four hours,” Jones revealed.
While stating about the future of Test cricket, Jones believes except England and Australia, the fans don’t turn to stadiums in huge numbers as they used to be.
“If the Asian countries don’t gravitate towards Test cricket, then we’ve lost it. Even if Australia and England love it, we’ve lost it,” he said.
While taking a dig at the traditional format, Jones feels the game should change. He urged if the Test World Cup takes place anytime soon, the pitches will be taken care and prepared by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“We’ve played timeless Tests…Tests after the war were only three-day matches. I think the game needs to keep changing. There is only one law that hasn’t changed in the game of cricket and that’s the length of the pitch,” he added.
While describing the Indian market as significant for the game of cricket, Jones further discussed about the number of Tests being played in the calendar year.
“Moderation (of Test cricket) is good, teams should only be playing eight-10 Tests (a year), playing 17 Tests a year is ridiculous,” he further added.
He expressed that Test cricket has been hit by limited-overs cricket and it needs to be revived at the earliest.
“India hated One-Day cricket…hated it and then they won it in 1983 (World Cup) and then they loved it and played it more than anybody else. India hated T20 cricket…all of a sudden they beat Pakistan in the inaugural World T20 (in 2007) and then T20 cricket was away,” Jones concluded.
While making his debut for Australia in 1984 against the West Indies at Port of Spain, Jones played 52 Tests in which he scored 3631 runs at an average of 46.55, which included 11 hundreds and 14 fifties.