Duo pleads case for test cricket
It’s one thing for former greats to tell journalists of their fears for the future of test cricket, it’s another to say it face-to-face to a senior administrator.
That was the opportunity presented to legends Greg Chappell and Sir Richard Hadlee, neither of whom let the chance go begging in a Q&A with Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts at a function commemorating the 1980-81 Boxing Day test between the trans-Tasman rivals in Melbourne.
Both men have long stated their concerns over the health of the game’s traditional format, which remains strong in Australia and England but struggles to pull the fans through the gates in other countries.
The lack of competitiveness around the world is also a concern for Chappell. Guests at the function needed only to peer out the window at the scoreboard for a reminder, or glance at the world test rankings, which reveal a twotier competition with a huge gap between fifth and sixth.
‘‘It’s harder and harder for teams to be competitive. Not every country has the history of test cricket like we have with England,’’ Chappell said.
‘‘Ashes test matches will go on for as long as I’ll be around and probably a lot longer. I think test cricket will be squeezed.’’
Chappell, who has long feared for the five-day game, is hopeful the recent introduction of day/ night tests and the new test championship will be the saviour of the traditional format.
‘‘You have to go where the spectators are,’’ Chappell said.
‘‘I hope we continue to find really good test cricket because I believe cricket without test cricket won’t be cricket at all.’’
New Zealand’s greatest player Hadlee, who at one stage was the world’s leading wicket-taker, fears Twenty20 will ‘‘dominate’’ world cricket. Every major cricket nation now has its own T20 league, which administrators say has helped grow the game.
‘‘Test cricket is the foundation of what the game was based,’’ Hadlee said. ‘‘I know revenuemakers already want more and more T20 cricket but I think that will be bad news for the game overall.’’
Roberts is open to innovations such as more pink-ball tests and even four-day games.
‘‘It’s absolutely true we can’t afford to love test cricket to death,’’ he said.
‘‘We have to protect it and make sure we nurture it into the future.’’
Hadlee can’t forget
There was some levity as well at the function, with Chappell even making light of the underarm incident.
It’s been 39 years but Hadlee still hasn’t fully gotten over a controversial no-ball for intimidatory bowling which denied New Zealand medium-pacer Lance Cairns the wicket of Australia’s No 11 Jim Higgs, who was caught behind off the gloves.
Higgs batted for 96 minutes, sharing a crucial 60-run stand with Doug Walters for the final wicket.
The game finished in a draw with New Zealand six down and 65 runs short of victory.
‘‘He bowls about 115 kmh, he bowled a bouncer to Higgsy, the first and only one he bowled in the match,’’ Hadlee told guests, which included more than half the two XIs from the 1980 match.
‘‘[Umpire] Robin Bailhache decided to give it not out for intimidatory bowling. You remember that Greg?’’
When told by Chappell that he did not, Hadlee remarked: ‘‘I think you’ve forgotten a lot of things.’’
Quick as a flash, Chappell replied: ‘‘Some things need to be forgotten.’’