The clock is ticking on Test cricket - the powers that be must act now to save it

The ICC meet in Auckland this week and the outcome of their discussions on the sport’s most prestigious format could go a long way to deciding its place in the game

Test cricket faces a battle for relevancy in the world of Twenty20 (Getty)

The clock is ticking on Test cricket’s future – and the head of the international cricket players union (FICA) believes major surgery is required, rather than endless tinkering around the edges.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) meet in Auckland this week and the outcome of their discussions on the sport’s most prestigious format could go a long way to deciding its place in the game.

A trial of a four-day Test in the Boxing Day match between South Africa and Zimbabwe in December is likely to be high on the agenda.

That will take place at the same time as the MCG Ashes Test – a match that’s likely to be played out in front of over 90,000 people. Given those numbers, it’s easy to overlook the long-term issues facing a format that’s struggling to maintain its relevance in a calendar that’s increasingly dominated by Twenty20 cricket.

FICA chief, Tony Irish, believes it’s the context of the Test match game rather than the scheduling that needs to be addressed in the coming days in New Zealand. He fears that failing to do that could see the format wither and die.

“The Ashes is the iconic Test series because it has tradition and narrative – it really means something,” he tells The Independent. “That’s only the Ashes. I don’t think that having a close series or a great series this winter will do anything for Test cricket elsewhere in the world.

England travel to Australia for the Ashes this winter (Getty)

“The issue is that we need to have some kind of meaning, some kind of context to the rest of Test cricket. That’s the fundamental thing. Test cricket outside of the Ashes needs to be fixed. The ICC are considering competition structures at the meeting in Auckland but the ICC is starting its discussion from a scheduling point of view and then trying to wrap the context around that.

“I think there’s only a limited benefit that you can get from that. We’ll have to see what comes out of that. If you really want to make a good Test league that has proper context and proper meaning, then you want to start with the context first and build the schedule around that, rather than the other way around.”

Away from series involving England and Australia, Test match crowds have plunged over the past two decades.

England head Down Under with the future of Test cricket hanging in the balance (Getty)

The first day of England’s First Test against Pakistan in the UAE back in 2014, for example, was watched by just 54 people. Admittedly, the game was essentially being played at a neutral venue but it’s an indication of the issues facing the sport.

One key figure who will be in attendance at the meeting in Auckland said that Test cricket was now only genuinely commercially viable in five countries – England, Australia, India, South Africa and Pakistan (if Test cricket returned to the country). Elsewhere, T20 is now the dominant format, creating the vast majority of the revenue and delivering the largest crowds by a considerable distance.

“Test cricket desperately needs meaningful changes,” says Irish. “In England you guys don’t see it in the way we do around the rest of the world. Test cricket is very healthy in England, you still fill up the grounds and it’s still the pinnacle of the game. That’s not how it is in the rest of the world. Test cricket and international cricket generally is losing huge grounds to T20 leagues, not only commercially but in terms of where players want to play.

T20 has taken over globally (Getty)

“More and more, particularly in the smaller countries, players are finding T20 competitions more attractive than playing for their country and that’s a really worrying state of affairs.

“The ICC needs to improve the whole structure and that includes Test cricket, one-day cricket, T20 internationals and also the T20 tournaments across the world. International cricket and, in particular, Test cricket needs a good competition structure and the ICC has to look at how all these formats can co-exist.

“If international cricket continues to compete against the leagues then there’s only one winner. If players are forced to make decisions as to where they’re going to play then you’ll see a continuing player drain towards the leagues. Unless something is done then Test cricket faces a real battle for survival. It’s hard to put a timescale on it but the ICC needs to do something rapidly.”

The purists will hope the comeback starts in Auckland this week.