Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Vishnu.Reang]

I don't think anyone will  be unhappy if the test match between Australia and Afghanistan is postponed . Because the match will be one sided . A team like Afghanistan is like a child in test match against Australia . May be Afghanistan played well in the ODI match but they still could not good enough in the test match. I would be happy if Australia played New Zealand or India

This is not a proper justification. Currently the big 3 teams are far ahead of the other test nations. We have one-sided matches whenever these nations play against smaller nations such as West Indies or Sri Lanka. But that doesn't mean that we should limit test cricket to just three nations. We have 12 teams with test status and they should be allowed to play against each other.

[Swordsoffreedom]

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Furthermore whether they win or loose is a different matter, but CA should not cancel it just because it will bring them less revenue when compared to the revenues that they’ll gain from the Indian series.
Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/sep/25/cricket-australia-postpones-afghanistan-test-and-new-zealand-odi (As per this article it’s postponed, so can you post link where it say they’re cancelling it.)

Yes, I also said it is postponed.

I don't think anyone will  be unhappy if the test match between Australia and Afghanistan is postponed . Because the match will be one sided . A team like Afghanistan is like a child in test match against Australia . May be Afghanistan played well in the ODI match but they still could not good enough in the test match. I would be happy if Australia played New Zealand or India

This is not a proper justification. Currently the big 3 teams are far ahead of the other test nations. We have one-sided matches whenever these nations play against smaller nations such as West Indies or Sri Lanka. But that doesn't mean that we should limit test cricket to just three nations. We have 12 teams with test status and they should be allowed to play against each other.

@Swordsoffreedom I disagree with your point of view because Afghanistan player’s deserved this match, as it would help their player’s get valuable experience while playing against a top team like Australia.
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If the test match will happen then it will be helpful for Afghanistan's players. As well it will grow their test skills. Though it will be not so enjoyable to the viewers. Look If the match will happen between Afghanistan vs Sri-Lanka or Bangladesh then it will be more enjoyable and good enough for the both teams (Afghanistan team and the viewers).
 
On the other hand, If the match goes for an ODI series then I think that will be more interesting and perfect, because you know Afghanistan team is far better in ODI than test matches.

[JSRAW]

For some reason i am getting bored with the ODI format unless teams playing ODI series around World Cup. ODI hype dies after World Cup concludes so i don't mind if they cancelling odi tour or i would say play less ODI bilateral series after WC, Same with the T-20 WC.

Don't stop but play less games, it keep interest alive or may be play Trilateral/quadrilateral series.. and then focus on the Red ball cricket instead.

[Bitcoin577]

For some reason i am getting bored with the ODI format unless teams playing ODI series around World Cup. ODI hype dies after World Cup concludes so i don't mind if they cancelling odi tour or i would say play less ODI bilateral series after WC, Same with the T-20 WC.

Don't stop but play less games, it keep interest alive or may be play Trilateral/quadrilateral series.. and then focus on the Red ball cricket instead.

One thing is sure now Twenty/20 is doing his business as peoples bore with ODI and want something better then this which is only twenty/20 but ICC will not do any action until they have very solid replacement for this Test and Twenty/20 both formats can do some better and dropping ODI will not bring any serious damage but if they want to keep alive this then surely bring some better solutions like @JSRAW saying only triseries or quadrilateral can bring some good number of crowd.

[Vishnu.Reang]

For some reason i am getting bored with the ODI format unless teams playing ODI series around World Cup. ODI hype dies after World Cup concludes so i don't mind if they cancelling odi tour or i would say play less ODI bilateral series after WC, Same with the T-20 WC.

Don't stop but play less games, it keep interest alive or may be play Trilateral/quadrilateral series.. and then focus on the Red ball cricket instead.

In the past, triangular or even quadrangular tournaments were more common. Especially when played in neutral venues such as Sharjah, Singapore and Toronto. But nowadays the teams are focusing only on bilateral series and they don't have time for such tournaments. And that said, the interest in ODI seems to be declining, as the fans are migrating to T20.

[JSRAW]

For some reason i am getting bored with the ODI format unless teams playing ODI series around World Cup. ODI hype dies after World Cup concludes so i don't mind if they cancelling odi tour or i would say play less ODI bilateral series after WC, Same with the T-20 WC.

Don't stop but play less games, it keep interest alive or may be play Trilateral/quadrilateral series.. and then focus on the Red ball cricket instead.

~snip~
 @JSRAW saying only triseries or quadrilateral can bring some good number of crowd.

Not disagreeing but clarifying that i didn't mean to say that ODI format struggling to attract crowd. Just getting bored with the mindless bilateral series.

~snip~

In the past, triangular or even quadrangular tournaments were more common. Especially when played in neutral venues such as Sharjah, Singapore and Toronto. But nowadays the teams are focusing only on bilateral series and they don't have time for such tournaments. And that said, the interest in ODI seems to be declining, as the fans are migrating to T20.

I am in very much favor of Tri/Quad series in ODI/T-20. At the end everyone wants interesting series not some useless Bilateral. for ex 2 teams playing ODI series just after ODI WC, its seems pathetic lol

[bryant.coleman]

I am in very much favor of Tri/Quad series in ODI/T-20. At the end everyone wants interesting series not some useless Bilateral. for ex 2 teams playing ODI series just after ODI WC, its seems pathetic lol

The reason why we are seeing less number of such tournaments is that the ICC has come up with the ODI Championship. ICC full members are required to play a certain number of matches against each other and the matches from tri/quad series doesn't count for this ODI Championship. The international cricketing calendar is already crowded and the teams don't have any incentive to play matches outside the ICC ODI Championship.

[JSRAW]

I am in very much favor of Tri/Quad series in ODI/T-20. At the end everyone wants interesting series not some useless Bilateral. for ex 2 teams playing ODI series just after ODI WC, its seems pathetic lol

The reason why we are seeing less number of such tournaments is that the ICC has come up with the ODI Championship. ICC full members are required to play a certain number of matches against each other and the matches from tri/quad series doesn't count for this ODI Championship. The international cricketing calendar is already crowded and the teams don't have any incentive to play matches outside the ICC ODI Championship.

BCCI/Ganguly was proposing Quad/tri series. Hopefully its kicks on...
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I just checked it..

It says every team (Total 13 teams, Full members + Netherlands)  need to play 8 ODI series before next WC 2023 (4 home + 4 away) basically similar to Test championship.

[Vishnu.Reang]

I don't understand the logic for not counting triangular/quadrangular tournaments in the ODI championship. They are more interesting when compared to bilateral ODI matches, which can be repetitive. If the ICC wants a minimum of 3 matches, then let there be 3 matches each between each of the teams. So instead of each team playing the other once or twice, they can do it three times. The winner should be decided on the basis of points and there should not be any "final" match.

[eaLiTy]

The winner should be decided on the basis of points and there should not be any "final" match.

The interest lay on having a final rather than winning a competition through points, they could promote the match as the final and that could attract more viewers in front of the television and in the stadium and the beauty of triangular or quadrangular tournaments is the best two teams will play for the title.

@JSRAW is there a chance we would see the world cup getting extended. We need to give every team a fair chance to get qualified and i have not seen their scheduling on when they are planning to resume cricket again.

[bryant.coleman]

The winner should be decided on the basis of points and there should not be any "final" match.

The interest lay on having a final rather than winning a competition through points, they could promote the match as the final and that could attract more viewers in front of the television and in the stadium and the beauty of triangular or quadrangular tournaments is the best two teams will play for the title.

@JSRAW is there a chance we would see the world cup getting extended. We need to give every team a fair chance to get qualified and i have not seen their scheduling on when they are planning to resume cricket again.

Yes. Final matches attract above average viewership. What the ICC needs to do is to allow the matches of ODI championship to be played as tri/quad series. Unless big 3 nations are taking part, the bilateral serieses attracts very low interest from the fans nowadays. If the number if teams are increased, then there is a chance that the TV viewership will increase as well.

[JSRAW]

@JSRAW is there a chance we would see the world cup getting extended. We need to give every team a fair chance to get qualified and i have not seen their scheduling on when they are planning to resume cricket again.

Not sure bhai..

Ideally ICC should make some arrangements in this regard but they didn't discuss this in any meeting, even cricket boards are not raising (except test series) this issue at least nothing came into media so far.

[shamimal93]

For some reason i am getting bored with the ODI format unless teams playing ODI series around World Cup. ODI hype dies after World Cup concludes so i don't mind if they cancelling odi tour or i would say play less ODI bilateral series after WC, Same with the T-20 WC.

Don't stop but play less games, it keep interest alive or may be play Trilateral/quadrilateral series.. and then focus on the Red ball cricket instead.

You have discussed a good topic.  I totally agree with your opinion.  The game should never be stopped.  ODI cricket should be kept on at least. And if that is not possible then at least T20 cricket should be kept on. We see that there is not a match when the World Cup is over.  I think bilateral or trilateral matches are good for cricket.

[bryant.coleman]

You have discussed a good topic.  I totally agree with your opinion.  The game should never be stopped.  ODI cricket should be kept on at least. And if that is not possible then at least T20 cricket should be kept on. We see that there is not a match when the World Cup is over.  I think bilateral or trilateral matches are good for cricket.

Many of the cricket boards are in difficult financial situation. So they may prioritize the franchise cricket leagues over international cricket. For example, the BCCI receives most of its revenue from the IPL (which lasts for just 1.5 months). The same can be said about Cricket Australia (BBL) and the WICB (CPL). Even when international tours are being organized, test matches will receive the lowest priority.

[JSRAW]

Cricket needs clarity and restructuring, says Uday Shankar

Formal Chairman and President at at Star & Disney India and Walt Disney APAC respectively giving his insight on current global cricket calender, basically calling majority of bilateral series useless.

"Cricket needs clarity. It has three formats and all three are currently battling each other for greater relevance. In that, the game finds itself caught in a bizarre dichotomy that has come to exist and it needs to be resolved".

That line of thought, he explains, comes from how fans are taking to the game now, visa -vis the past. "Fans want more of T20, followed by ODIs and very few want Test cricket. In that, they want iconic Test cricket - India vs Australia, England vs Australia, India vs England. Nobody wants just any random Test matches. But the cricket establishment still seems to be in denial and thinks cricket is still about Test matches because it was about Test matches 30 years ago," says Shankar.

Shankar says it is the game's administration that must align its goals with that of fans and cricket lovers because sponsors and advertisers in the game will only reflect the priorities of the fans.

[Juggy777]

Cricket needs clarity and restructuring, says Uday Shankar

Formal Chairman and President at at Star & Disney India and Walt Disney APAC respectively giving his insight on current global cricket calender, basically calling majority of bilateral series useless.

"Cricket needs clarity. It has three formats and all three are currently battling each other for greater relevance. In that, the game finds itself caught in a bizarre dichotomy that has come to exist and it needs to be resolved".

That line of thought, he explains, comes from how fans are taking to the game now, visa -vis the past. "Fans want more of T20, followed by ODIs and very few want Test cricket. In that, they want iconic Test cricket - India vs Australia, England vs Australia, India vs England. Nobody wants just any random Test matches. But the cricket establishment still seems to be in denial and thinks cricket is still about Test matches because it was about Test matches 30 years ago," says Shankar.

Shankar says it is the game's administration that must align its goals with that of fans and cricket lovers because sponsors and advertisers in the game will only reflect the priorities of the fans.

@JSRAW I don’t think that any sane cricket fan can be upset by this statement, because he’s spoken the truth, and I’m pretty sure that even ICC knows this too, but if they were to implement test matches only between those nations suggested by him, then they would incur the backlash of the remaining test nations. Furthermore if this pandemic lasts longer then people would prefer only going to T20 matches, because Test matches could be called off if multiple spectators got infected, and that could kill the fun of watching test matches.

[Vishnu.Reang]

^^^ I had previously posted about it. The fans are no longer interested in test cricket. And yet the majority of the international cricketing calendar is being devoted to test matches. On average, a team plays 50 to 60 days of test cricket per year, while they play only 25-30 days of ODI cricket and less than 15 days of T20 cricket. And this is one of the reasons why cricket fans are deserting international matches and flocking to franchise T20 leagues.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

@JSRAW I don’t think that any sane cricket fan can be upset by this statement, because he’s spoken the truth, and I’m pretty sure that even ICC knows this too, but if they were to implement test matches only between those nations suggested by him, then they would incur the backlash of the remaining test nations. Furthermore if this pandemic lasts longer then people would prefer only going to T20 matches, because Test matches could be called off if multiple spectators got infected, and that could kill the fun of watching test matches.

^^^ I had previously posted about it.

Yeah Juggy777 this would create some backlash for sure but i think time has come BCCI ICC need to think some sort of strategy to address this problem. May be introducing Group system in the Red ball cricket is our solution.

Edit

** ICC not BCCI, edited

[bryant.coleman]

@JSRAW I don’t think that any sane cricket fan can be upset by this statement, because he’s spoken the truth, and I’m pretty sure that even ICC knows this too, but if they were to implement test matches only between those nations suggested by him, then they would incur the backlash of the remaining test nations. Furthermore if this pandemic lasts longer then people would prefer only going to T20 matches, because Test matches could be called off if multiple spectators got infected, and that could kill the fun of watching test matches.

There is no point in staging meaningless bilateral series between two teams of unequal strength. Ideally, they should divide the test playing divisions equally, in to two divisions of 12 each. But what they did is a joke. They created two divisions. But the first division is having 9 teams and the second division is having 3 teams. And on top of that, there is no option of promotion/relegation.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Yeah Juggy777 this would create some backlash for sure but i think time has come BCCI need to think some sort of strategy to address this problem. May be introducing Group system in the Red ball cricket is our solution.

The Ashes, Border-Gavaskar, and the Trans-Tasman Trophy remains very popular as far as test cricket is concerned. But other series receive very little interest from the fans. I would rather recommend to limit any test series outside these three to just one match per tour. Increasing the number of matches anymore is not financially viable for the participating boards. Instead of playing additional test matches, they can use this time for T20Is or ODIs.