Infuse T20-like buzz into Tests, embrace day-night cricket: KP
NEED OF THE HOUR Pietersen bats for commercial nous and innovation to revive format
BANGALORE: The doomsayers of Test cricket can be proved wrong only if the format replicates the entertainment quotient of its biggest threat, T20, former England skipper Kevin Pietersen said on Wednesday.
“Let’s throw equal marketing clout behind the Test game before we succumb to the lazy assumption that 20-20 rules,” Pietersen said while delivering the Tiger Pataudi Memorial lecture in Banglore organised by the Indian cricket Board.
Urging existing cricket powers as well as Afghanistan, whose squad were present ahead of their first Test, he said it was vital to enhance the fan experience just like IPL has done. He advocated day-night Tests to ensure fans came to watch, though India have been reluctant to embrace the new concept.
“To those who hear this and remain cynical. Who question the entertainment value of Tests. Who believe that I am wistful about something that will soon be associated with black and white TV, fax and telegrams.
“I say, let’s create a fair comparison. Let’s not compromise entertainment. Let’s put the Test fans first. Let’s make Test cricket a spectacle. Garnish it with colour and fireworks. Fill the grounds. Play in the evenings. Give the umpires microphones to broadcast to the spectators. Allow sledging – as long as it is on the right side of the line. Communicate better with the fans.
“We may dream that cricketers will choose to play five-day cricket because of its history and tradition, because it develops character, and because we seek to emulate the feats of Bradman, Hutton and Gavaskar. But that would be no different to asking a Bollywood star to give up the screen for work in the theatre. It may be a more classical form of acting but it offers a fraction of the rewards.
“If we wish cricketers to commit to five-day cricket, we have to pay them. How do we pay them? Simply by throwing the same commercial nous and innovation at the Test game.
“Five days of action. They provide so many opportunities. Daynight games have demonstrated the enormous leaps that are possible. The IPL doesn’t play its biggest fixtures when many of its staunchest, wealthiest fans are at work. Neither should Test cricket.
“It will only be by pushing the marketing dial to a maximum that we will see if the Test game has true potential. Let’s make every game count. Push the profile of the world Test championship. Offer cheaper seats in the ground to provide a better spectacle for TV viewers. Is there a game anywhere quite like Test cricket in which so many people are passionate despite rarely attending a game in person?”