Test cricket with fewer teams?

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MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw has outlined a future for the game with fewer teams and players involved in Test match cricket. More... MCC head honcho defends Test matches Wednesday 24-March-2010 10:19 MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw is wary of a future stocked with players taught only the requirements of Twenty20 and unable to adapt to the demands of first-class and Test cricket. Bradshaw by no means subscribes to the "pessimists' apocalyptic version of the future of the game". But in an interview in the April issue of The Wisden Cricketer, he acknowledges the dangers of Twenty20 usurping his sport's traditional and treasured formats. Fewer teams and players involved in Test cricket may coincide with a near-doubling of international T20 sides in five years' time, he suggests. "I consider myself optimistic, but it isn't difficult to look ahead and see the pessimists' apocalyptic version of the future of the game - where Tests are virtually redundant, Twenty20 saturates and players are globe-trotting mercenaries," he said. "We know several players have already forgone playing Tests to prolong more lucrative Twenty20 careers. "But I believe the more covert long-term problem will be that young players will be schooled purely in the Twenty20 game and be unable to adapt to the demands of cricket played over three, four and five days. "The transition from Test to Twenty20 cricket is much easier than the other way round, and the result could be far fewer players capable of playing five-day cricket." Bradshaw advocates Test cricket's continued position as the pinnacle of the sport. But he is well aware of a vulnerability which may not be obvious to many in this country, where - unlike almost everywhere else in the world - Tests still attract the biggest crowds. "We have a warped sense of the well-being of Tests in this country, because they attract good crowds. "Yet there is a real danger that the format could become the preserve of four or five countries unless efforts are made to reinstate a fairer balance between bat and ball, to work alongside rather than against Twenty20 competitions to ensure players do not have to choose between playing for their country and their club, and to attract new audiences." The trick will be to harness the potential of Twenty20, he believes, while ensuring it does not simply devour the longer formats in the process. "Twenty20 could sound the death knell for Test cricket but it could also prove to be the perfect vehicle for the expansion of the game into other countries," Bradshaw said. "The shorter the game, the greater the leveller - and Twenty20 is an excellent pathway into the elite fold. "Just think of the fairytale qualification of Afghanistan for this year's World Twenty20." Geographical expansion is on Bradshaw's mind too, and he predicts a new world of cricket in the offing in America. "I firmly believe the next big step will be the growth of cricket in the United States. "It's not unrealistic to think there could be 20 countries capable of playing competitive Twenty20 cricket within the next five years - surely something to celebrate."