After the England tour of West Indies in early 2009, my lasting memory of that series was the boring nature of most of the test matches which where played out on the dullest and most benign, anti-cricket pitches imaginable.
At the time a lot of moaning and groaning was done by England fans and commentators alike, and I have to say that I agreed with them all.
I hoped that ICC would have done something to ensure that wickets like these became a thing of the past, to me they are stopping test cricket becoming popular again.
Which brings me onto the recent test between West Indies and South Africa in St Kitts. It shows that nothing has changed since the England tour, as this was yet another example of why test cricket is dying outside of England and Australia.
It was awful stuff.
Ok so there was some negative tactics employed by West Indies, and I know full well there is not much that ICC can do about that. They can though do something about the preparation of the wicket.
It’s one thing having a 5 day test match, but if it’s 5 days of dirge then the ICC are shooting themselves in the foot again, no wonder no one watches test cricket in West Indies if this is the sort of rubbish the fans are subjected too.
There is also a shortage of fast bowlers in test cricket these days, something I have mentioned before on this blog. Wickets of this nature are going to only continue to shorten the careers of fast bowlers, do we really want to see Dale Steyn bowling himself into the ground on that pitch?
What does test cricket gain from that? Nothing in my view.
Three to four days of intense cricket would be far better than this. It’s time that these awful Chief Executive wickets are got rid of once and for all, and it’s time for ICC to act before test cricket kills itself!
Brian Carpenter
Completely agree, Dean. Indeed, I posted as much yesterday. There seems to be a lot of concern about the threat to Tests from T20, but the threat from this type of game is much more dangerous.
I too mentioned the ICC, but more as an ironic reference than anything else, as they probably won’t act until it’s too late (if they act at all).
Dean @ CBB
Hi Brian, thanks for the comment.
I looked at your posting, and you mentioned something I have missed, how the test match has (wrongly) made West Indies look competitive, and I think you’re right.
Cricket administrators seem to have a very short sighted outlook, they don’t see the bigger picture.
In thinking that 5 days of this type of rubbish, is 5 days worth of money in the coffers maybe true, but it is unsustainable.
In 5-10 years time no one will be there to watch the 5 days anymore.
My point about ICC is that surely they have a responsibility to make sure pitches are fair to both bat and ball. It should be a fundamental part of the game to have an equal contest.
And another major bug bear I have with it, is the shortage of out and out fast bowlers in world cricket.
These types of games are doing nothing to help that problem, they already play too much cricket as it is. So to then expect quality bowlers like Steyn, Morkel, and I suppose Roach as well, to bowl on there for two days at a time is disgraceful.