The 5 day Test cricket schedule has become a complete farce and the World Test Championship needs to be relooked at urgently. Firstly how can 2 Tests be considered a series as at worst it should be a minimum best of 3. If Australia, India or England play against each other it is always 5 test matches. Against the stronger teams they will play 3 tests just in case they lose won and if it was a two test series would risk a drawn series. This is too high a risk for the top 3 and why this format is so skewed in their favor. No wonder 5 day test cricket is on the slide in most countries around the world.
The sport of cricket has changed over the last couple of decades with the pinnacle of cricket being Test cricket now under severe pressure. The sad reality is the one day 50 over test matches and the T20's are being prioritized over test matches.
To give you an example of how bad things are South Africa who are the current World Test Cricket Champions do not have one home Test match until October next year. This would be a gap of 18 months of not hosting a 5 day test match and this is all down to the financials. The worrying question is how many countries will be playing 5 day Test Cricket in 10 or 20years time? My guess is not all the countries we see playing now as some will fall away as they can no longer afford this as their revenue has been shrunk on purpose by the top 3 cricket nations.
Just to show you how imbalanced the World Test Championship is we should look at the format and this is where the problem lies. This is all about who has the most revenue and is very short sighted long term.
The WTC is played over a 2 year cycle with each cricket nation playing 3 home and away test series of between 2 and 5 matches. 12 points for a win ,6 for a tie (has happened) and 4 for a draw. The points are then calculated as a percentage vs the number of matches played. The problem is the top 3 wealthy cricket nations being India, Australia and England play each other regularly and it is always the maximum of 5 test matches and never 2 or 3 like all the other nations do. This format was voted on a few years ago and you guessed it the nations who hold the most votes are the same top 3 cricket nations.
During the 2023-2027 period the SA cricket team will play 28 tests which is 15 less than England, 12 fewer than Australia and 10 less than India. These are rather significant numbers and the likes of New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka are in the same boat as SA with far less 5 day Test cricket being played. If we end up with only 3 Test Nations playing Test cricket then the fault lies firmly with the top 3 because they have created this. This was all about keeping and protecting their revenue.
Ever since I was a young lad I can recall SA always had a Boxing day test in Durban and a New Years Test in Cape Town versus a touring team. These matches were always sold out over the festive period and this year there are none. If you are growing the sport of Test cricket how can you if there is no cricket on show?
The financials is the problem as hosting a 5 day Test match series is very expensive as just a 3 match series would take 3-4 weeks to complete. The host nation pays for all the expenses of hosting that team from flights, hotels and entertainment plus any medical requirements. The chances are the host nation will be lucky to break even and possibly will lose money unless they have decent tv endorsements.
If we compare that to a touring team playing a one day cricket series of 5 matches and 5 T20 matches the time spent in the country is roughly the same but each venue is generally sold out. Television companies tend to pay more for the shorter format as the demand internationally is far higher and the rights to broadcast are more profitable. The quicker format matches are where the money is and this is now taking away from Test cricket.
I am very much old school when it comes to cricket and enjoy a good 5 day Test series. Earlier this year we had England battling at home versus India and the series swung one way and then the other. That is the pinnacle of cricket where the best test themselves on a wicket that slowly deteriorates as the match progresses. This you cannot experience in a 50 or 20 over match and if Test cricket takes a back seat we have lost something special. I enjoy my sport and with cricket I enjoy all formats with 5 day Test cricket being the most enjoyable and needs to be regarded as the most important for the game of cricket.