It is probably too late to save the Test game, says Morgan
England’s white-ball captain, Eoin Morgan, is not bitter or twisted about Test cricket. He gave it a crack for two years and scored 700 Test runs between 2010 and 2012, with a couple of centuries thrown in. So he does not look at the future of Test cricket as a man spurned, but as a former practitioner who is well informed.
And what Morgan has to say should truly alarm the International Cricket Council, even if nothing is going to happen as a result. As Morgan sees it, the time to save Test cricket has passed and the future will consist of T20 franchises. Asked if he was worried about the sport’s most traditional format, Morgan replied: “Test-match cricket has had a lot to worry about for quite a while now. If something was going to be done about it, it probably should have been done already. There are still, I suppose, different ideas being thrown around but actually giving priority to Test matches is sort of a luxury now for the bigger countries around the world. For other countries, T20 franchise cricket takes priority.”
Some of England’s most talented cricketers are giving up on championship and Test cricket, led by Adil Rashid and Alex Hales, to join the new world order.
“I think it’s a really good decision for those individuals,” Morgan said. “Every individual is different, they see their future and their pathway changing all the time, and it’s OK to be able to change it. A lot of people actually are forced into a position to play one or two formats, which I think is wrong because it’s their own career, it’s their own future, they need to take hold of it and make the most of it while they can.
“And at the moment that’s taking a backward step from red-ball cricket and putting white-ball cricket at the forefront of their career path for now. I think it’s the right one because they believe it’s the right one.
“The best ideas probably being bandied around are putting most revenue behind the match appearances or actual prize money towards Test cricket so people don’t choose simply because of the money they might make. It’s all down to decisions and how good they are at that particular format.”
Nobody knows what the world of cricket will look like in 10 years’ time, such is the speed of change. But Morgan is spot on when he says something “probably should have been done already”. Will posterity see the turning point to have been the ICC’s abolition of the World Test Championship in 2013 and 2017? Its chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, announced it would be staged in England between the top four Test countries. But the ICC’s executive board preferred a Champions Trophy – another white-ball competition – instead. Short-term financial interests – what if India were not in the top four, would broadcasters have to be refunded? – were prioritised ahead of the well-being of Test cricket.
There will be a World Test Championship in England in 2021 – consisting of one whole match that could be decided by the toss of a coin in bowling conditions. The World Championshipthat-wasn’t in 2013 and 2017 would have consisted of four Test countries each playing three Tests against the others in a month. Big prize money for the winners, worldwide interest, a grand climax… The body charged with looking after world cricket had the ball in its hand – and dropped it.