Future of Test Cricket Uncertain?

(This entry was originally published on Saturday, March 14th, 2009)

Australian captain Ricky Ponting thinks that the future of test cricket is bleak due to the overgrowing popularity of Twenty20 format in world cricket. He has expressed his concern on the fact that the new generation might be more focused on the glamorous Twenty20 where money is all around. Australian Cricketers’ Association has recently conducted a survey among the 25 players who are centrally contracted with Cricket Australia (CA). The result of the survey is really something very shocking for those who would like to see Cricket’s traditional format, test cricket, continuing with its pride in the years to come. In fact, about half of the players surveyed have said that they give priority to Twenty20 cricket over test cricket.

To be honest, I do not want test cricket lose its popularity day by day, but no body can change the reality. I think, Twenty20 has come at the right time in cricket. It has provided what cricket was lacking for a long time in their bid to popularize the game across the world. Cricket is not yet a sport which is widely popular in every corner of the world. To achieve that feat, Twetny20 can play a big part for Cricket. Test cricket is very time consuming and people in Europe and America would not like to involve in a game where it is played over five days and there is no certainty if the five-day action would bring a result in the match or not. So, I think, ICC should come up with some changes in test cricket in order to make it more interesting among the cricket fans. Otherwise, the future of test cricket is really very dark.