WE WANT TO PLAY MORE CRICKET
Root’s plea to bosses:
GLOBAL cricket bosses have been warned they must move with the times and lift the entertainment of fans higher up their list of priorities.
The lack of action at the Ageas Bowl over the past five days has put the attitude and approach of the ICC, and its officials, in sharp focus when it comes to providing broadcasters and their viewers with some bang for their buck.
The second Test meandered to a tame draw with England declaring their first innings on 110-4 to take a 1-0 lead into the final match on Friday.
With just 807 balls bowled, it had the least amount of cricket in a five-day Test in England for 33 years and yet, despite the rain, there should have been more action.
The game finished with the ground bathed in pictureperfect sunshine, but the final image cannot disguise the exasperation felt at the lack of previous intent in trying to move the match forward when conditions were less than ideal.
When it is dark, it is dark, and when it is wet, it is wet, but in the cool grey periods in between, the first aim must be to work out how more cricket can be played.
The issue will be discussed at the next ICC cricket committee meeting, with the ECB certain to express their frustration at the wasted hours in this game as the ground staff were left idle.
Little attempt was made to clean up the Southampton venue for play on day four, for example, as the sun shone deep into the evening. Perhaps the ICC and their officials have not quite appreciated just how much hard work and effort behind the scenes has gone into creating this bio-secure bubble. If ever there was a time to use a bit of common sense to either start a little earlier, play a little later or even do away with lunch and tea breaks, this Covid-affected series was it.
With no other international cricket being played since lockdown in March, the ECB have carried a huge weight of responsibility on their shoulders to ensure cricket is not forgotten in a sporting landscape that is up for grabs, and where financial priorities will be adjusted in the wake of the coronavirus
pandemic. The ICC owe the ECB and the opposition teams this summer a massive debt of gratitude and, by extension, the broadcasters who have paid substantial sums to show the game to their subscribers.
At the moment, everybody is losing.
“We want to play,” said England skipper Joe Root.
“We don’t want to be sat on the sidelines.As long as it is safe we want to be out there.
“We’ve coped with it as best we can and it is disappointing not to have got as much cricket as we would have liked, but it has been an extreme week.
“We need to look at starting the games early, maybe using a standardised lighter ball across the World Test Championship. Those above my pay grade need to look at it.”