Shane Warne laments Australia and England’s poor show in Tests: Says Test cricket ‘becoming boring’
Oct 31, 2016 at 1:26 PM
The last decade has seen a steady decline in the popularity of Test cricket. While there is no denying the fact that the time taken by the oldest format of the game is one of the biggest reasons behind it, there are several other reasons too behind its downfall. In this era, every single child idolizes the likes of Chris Gayle, Glenn Maxwell for their prowess in T20 cricket while there are only handfuls (I am doubting even this assumption), who aspire to become the next Brian Lara or Rahul Dravid. Well, the younger generation cannot be blamed for this.
The lack of competitiveness among the teams, the players’ inability to apply themselves on all kind of pitches and the meteoric rise of slam-bang T20 cricket are some of the biggest reasons for the steep decline of the longest format of the game. The apex body of the game has been taking several measures to lure the fans back to the stadium but so far, nothing concrete has materialized. The day-night Test with the pink ball is the latest innovation to attract the fans but there is still a long way to go. The empty stadiums in West Indies during their series against India earlier this year was heartbreaking for every traditionalist.
The downfall of West Indies cricket and Australia to some extent has deteriorated the conditions as with every passing year, the quality of cricket is taking a beating. Who would have thought that the West Indies team, that sent chills down the spines of its opposition will find it tough even to draw a Test? The Australian team, that dominated the format like no other team during the 90s and early 2000s, are struggling to even survive for a day in subcontinental pitches. Barring South Africa, there are only a few teams who can boast of a good performance in overseas conditions.
Well, just like the million of die-hard fans of the game, former Australian Shane Warne is also worried about the condition of Test cricket. The legendary bowler, who was a part of the all-conquering Australian team, took to Twitter to express his apprehensions over the dying format.
Suggesting few changes to make the game interesting, he tweeted:
Test cricket needs – Promotion, more attacking cricket from the captains, pitches need to spin or seam, not flat & players need to entertain
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) October 31, 2016
He also said that the conditions cannot improve if some big measures are not taken:
Should we just leave test cricket as it is & hope people start watching again ? It's v sad, but Test cricket is becoming boring for the fans https://t.co/LT1iP3JWeR
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) October 30, 2016
The legendary leg-spinner also lamented the poor performance of England and Australia in Test cricket. Unable to counter spin,England succumbed to the Bangladesh tweakers and lost their first Test against a nation which started playing Test cricket in 2000. Australia’s condition in the subcontinent is even worse. They last registered a win in Asia in 2006 against Bangladesh and a lot of fingers were raised when they were whitewashed by an inexperienced Sri Lankan team earlier this year.
Warne, who is all set to step into the commentary box for Australia’s upcoming home season, tweeted:
.@KP24 Welcome to Melb & the comm team too buddy. Not sure who's playing worse, Australia or England at present. Some very weird selections
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) October 30, 2016