‘T20 and Test can live as great friends’
Broad reflects on dwindling interest in longest format and suggests ways to bring back excitement
Muscat - Test cricket has been struggling to maintain its relevance and popularity against its younger sibling, T20 cricket. But two recent Test matches, one in Hyderabad where England beat India and the other in Brisbane in which the West Indies stunned Australia, rekindled hope and interest among the cricket fraternity. These matches showcased the lasting drama that Test cricket is capable of producing.
Every year, from December to February, five T20 leagues occur on three continents. These leagues are known for their entertainment value and lucrative salaries, but they also have a direct impact on Test cricket. A recent example of this is when Cricket South Africa decided to send a second-string Test team to New Zealand, allowing their top players to participate in the domestic SA20 league.
Speaking to Sportsboom, Stuart Broad, the fifth highest wicket taker in Test cricket emphasised how Test cricket needs to be preserved and the administration should work towards creating special windows for this.
Broad expressed immense enjoyment while watching recent Test matches in India and Australia. He envisions designated windows when all nations play Test cricket simultaneously, fostering a sense of global engagement. Broad emphasises the emotional impact of Test cricket, citing the thrilling West Windies victory and the players’ passionate reactions. Despite the rise of T20 cricket, he believes that Test cricket and T20 can coexist, complementing each other and contributing to the growth of the sport. “I am a believer particularly the T20 and Test cricket can live as great friends. They can live together, they can work together and grow the sport. I think players have a love for Test cricket still.”
In a recent interview with Sportsboom Former South Africa Test player and coach, Mark Boucher, expressed disappointment with Cricket South Africa (CSA) for scheduling a Test Series in New Zealand during the 2024 SA20.
Broad echoes similar sentiments and thinks Covid played a role in creating the backlogs of Test series and hopefully the administrators can now find gaps and windows between T20 and Test events.
Broad acknowledges the necessity of decisions prioritising T20 leagues over Test matches for the growth of the sport. At the same time he emphasises the importance of accommodating various formats in the cricket calendar, ensuring there is space for everything.
“What’s imbalanced is you’ve got Kagiso Rabada playing four Test matches a year and I was playing 12 or 15. That doesn’t sort of suit. I don’t know how you could fix that sort of scheduling.”
Regarding the future of Test cricket, Broad acknowledges the financial disparities between T20 and Test cricket.
He notes instances like Mitchell Starc earning more for two balls in the IPL than a whole Test match playing in Australia. Despite the challenges, Broad highlights the emotional significance of Test cricket and the need for collective efforts to ensure its continued relevance and success.
Geopolitics plays a disruptive role in sports. India and Pakistan have not played a Test match against each other since 2007. Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram, two of the greatest contemporary batters and bowlers from the subcontinent, only played against each other in 7 Test matches. In recent times, the financial model of cricket boards has become a determining factor in deciding which teams can afford to play Test cricket.
“In T20 cricket you only have to look at the shirts out there. You’ve got sponsor, sponsor, sponsor like Formula 1. Test cricket is so limited and so structured, I used to get told off for having an Adidas logo on my sweat band. You would get fined for it, so the limitations don’t work. There’s certainly scope to open up Test match cricket to partners and bring in finances that way. We need to reduce the gap between the lowest paid nations and the top paid nations in Test cricket.”
What’s imbalanced is you’ve got Kagiso Rabada playing four Test matches a year and I was playing 12 or 15. That doesn’t sort of suit. I don’t know how you could fix that sort of scheduling