D'Arcy Waldegrave: Test cricket is increasingly becoming a side show

The World Test Championship final is heading for quite the finish.  

As we sit, South Africa needs 69 runs to get their hands on the Mace, still the coolest trophy in sport.   

This means the game will actually get to day 4, a triumph in itself after the first two days where wickets tumbled with T20-like regularity, the game devolving into a war of attrition. It’s as if the players didn’t want to be there, and it’s easy enough to understand why.   

In the brave new world of T20 franchise baboonery —the money-soaked technicolour chimpanzees' tea party circus masquerading as cricket— test cricket is increasingly becoming a side show, a curious look back to the days where patience was a virtue. Although most players will run with the line that it is a true test and the pinnacle of the sport, this archaic 5-day concept is growing more and more difficult to justify. Hard core cricket fans will never turn their backs on the glory of the old school, so the long game will always have its place. But as the years tick by, the nature of the diminished human attention span, coupled with the financial and calendar-based stresses of keeping 5-day exchanges afloat, the game will slowly fade.   

The new generation of cricketers, with the avalanche of money and lack of hugely demanding physical and mental exertion T20 offers, could hardly be blamed for focusing their talents anywhere but the shortest form.  

The WTC, although a laudable concept, still needs to work to hold the attention of fans. A pertinent first move would be to base the final in the top qualifier's backyard. The detached energy of the bemused Lords spectators suggests that they’re there because they’re members, there for the experience, not because the care about the final result.   

As a lover of the long game, I hope that the WTC will remain and as time passes, the ICC will develop the series to bring the best of the exchanges to the fore. But with the demands placed on a time poor populace, the obscene money available to the players for little or no effort, and the wholly insignificant nature of the results of franchise T20 exchanges, hope might be all us old fellas have. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Wildgrave from News Talk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
It's up our seven World Test Championship Finals. Heating quite
the finish, bizarrely so as we sit South Africa and
needs sixty nine runs to get their hands on the mace,
still the coolest trophy in sport in my opinion. This
means the game will actually get to day four, which
is a triumph in itself after the first couple of

(00:33):
days where wickets tumbled with T twenty like regularity fourteen
a day for the first two days. Wow, the game
basically devolving into a war of attrition. It's as if
the players don't want to be there, and it's easy
enough to understand why. So in the brave new world
of T twenty franchise Baboonery, the money soaked technicolored chimpanzees

(00:56):
tea party circus masquerading his cricket. Test cricket in this
world is increasingly becoming the side shows a curious look
back to the days where was a virtue. Although most
players will run with the line that Test cricket is
the true test and the pinnacle of the sport, it's
an archaic five day concept, it's going more and more

(01:18):
difficult to justify. Hardcore cricket fans will never turn their
backs on the glory of the old score, so the
long game will always have its place. But as the
years tick by, that the nature of the diminished human
attention span. You couple that with the financial and calendar
based stresses of keeping at five day exchanges afloat, the

(01:39):
game will slowly fade. It's inevitable the new generation of
cricket is with the avalanche of money and a lack
of hugely demanding physical and mental exertion that T twenty
offers could hardly be blamed for focusing their talents anywhere
but the shortest form of the game, The World Test Championship,
although a laudable concept, still needs work to hold the

(01:59):
attention of fans. A pertinent first move will be to
base the final in the top qualifier's backyard. The detached
energy of the bemused Lord's spectators suggest what they're there
because they're members, they want to wear their silly tie.
They're there for that experience, not because they actually care
about the final result. Just doesn't sit right. As a

(02:20):
lover of the long game. I hope the World Test
Championship will remain. It's still in the early days and
as time passes. Maybe the ICC, if they've got any
control over the game a tour, which I doubt they
have it, maybe they will develop the series to bring
the best of the exchanges to the four. But with
the demands placed on a time poor populace, with the

(02:42):
obscene money available to the players for little or no effort,
and the wholly insignificant nature of the results of Franchise
T twenty exchanges, hope might be all us old fellas
have

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Darc For more from the Your Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave,
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