Australia World Cup winner Captain Steve Waugh raised the concern for cricketers taking less interest in Test cricket. His comment came after South Africa announced their test squad against New Zealand.
As Proteas announced their B Team for the two match series against Kiwis in which none of the player from the World Cup squad is playing and only three players – Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham and Zubayr Hamza who played the ongoing India-South Africa series are there into the squad.
Waugh with his social media post not only requested the ICC but also wanted the help from the boards of India, Australia and England that they all must take initiative to protect Test cricket from vanishing. He said,
“Is this a defining moment in the death of test cricket. Surely the ICC along the cricket boards of India , England and Australia must step in to protect the purest form of the game. A premium ,equal match fee for all test players might be a good starting point. History and tradition must count for something. If we stand by and allow profits to be the defining criteria, the legacy of Bradman, Grace and Sobers will be irrelevant.”
South African main players will be available for the 2nd season SA20 tournament due to which they were unable to make themselves available for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
The popularity of franchise cricket is growing rapidly and players also all over the world are playing different leagues all around the world.