Masca: Vital we revive Test fortunes
IT’S time to find out who really wants to continue playing Test cricket for England.
And the best way of doing that is by slapping a three-week limit on involvement in the Indian Premier League for those players who have central contracts.
That’s the view of Dimitri Mascarenhas (right), the first English player to get snapped up by an IPL franchise back in 2008.
Now living in Australia, the former England all-rounder watched on in despair as Joe Root’s side were humiliated Down
Under.
Despite being a fan of the IPL, he believes the time has come for the
ECB to make a stand and for the players to throw their efforts into reviving
England’s Test fortunes.
“I’ve changed my mind on this as a result of how that red ball team are performing,” he says. “Especially when you look at the likes of Jonny Bairstow and (Ben) Stokes and the amount of first class cricket they actually play.
“Outside of the Test matches they don’t play enough first class cricket, in fact they don’t play any.
“If you’ve got a Test contract you should be going to the IPL for a shorter period, two or three weeks, that’s plenty.
“Someone has to draw the line and say ‘this is how it’s going to be’. You have to prioritise first class cricket because you can’t just come straight out of IPL into Test cricket and expect to be amazing at it.”
England’s miserable 2021 and their batting performances in the Ashes was an illustration of the challenges that players who play so rarely for their counties face.
Mascarenhas added: “You need England to be one of the top two or three teams in the world, otherwise it could die.”