Will Test Cricket die by 2050????

[SRT100]

I take you back to a time before 1971 when the only cricket that existed was Test cricket. In 1971, ODIs began in Australia and in 2003 T20 commenced. While we have had wonderful Test Series over the past 43 years we have also seen ODI and T20 cricket evolve and define itself as an important part of cricket. The veteran fan demands and wants Test Cricket, the young adult enjoys ODIs and the young fans both male and females just devour T20. India is the biggest powerhouse in world cricket and it is clear that the IPL is packaged as pure adrenaline 3 hour excitement machine. The attendance of Test match cricket is evaporating right before us in India, even a strong team like Australia garners little interest when they visit India for Test match cricket. Yet change the clothes and shorten the game and there is packed houses. Again shorten the game having plays from all over the world play in your team and you again get packed stadiums. Fans are slowly losing interest in Test cricket, the attendances at games is appalling and the viewing audience also is dropping. It doesnt matter if India were the Number 1 on the tables, fans simply dont care. If India continue to fail at Test cricket but perform at ODI and T20 level, this will increase the demise of Test cricket. The explosion of IPL has only increased the Indian fans desire for cricket that produces a result on that day. While I havent experience the IPL, I have seen packed grounds for the Big Bash (Australia T20) but empty stadiums for state cricket. Test cricket in Australia is still good, but a time will come when the only Test cricket Australians care about is games against the Poms, India, SA and NZ. The deplorable one sided nature of Test cricket between India and England since the 2nd Test, is actually a dangerous setting to destroy Test cricket forever. No one wants to watch a 5 day test match end inside 3 days, which you may say is ironic given that it quickens the game. The problem with one sided matches ending inside 3 days is that its an ugly spectacle. ODIs and more so T20 is an excellent way to bring a lot of parity to all teams, which is important. I am sure many Indians world wide turned off test cricket when India started to get bashed and smashed. Losing was one thing, but seeing a Test team humiliated is a very very dangerous harmful spectacle for the good of the game. My question to you all is this, in 35 years from now, will we still see Test Cricket played? Its a long time away, but will society in the year 2050 have time to watch or care about a game that lasts for 5 days???????

[Laaloo]

2049

[sensible-indian]

Test cricket will die. Fans are just unwilling to accept it. I love Test cricket but apart from those series involving India, Aus and England - Test cricket just doesn't produce the revenues. Some people might say - "Test cricket survived the onslaught of ODI cricket when it was introduced in the 70's. Its been 40 years and Test cricket is still alive so there is no reason it won't survive in the future too." Yes, that's true but in those days revenue generation wasn't of paramount importance. Plus it wasn't the same fast paced world of today. Right now, Test cricket faces serious competition from not only ODIs but also T20 all of which produce more revenues overall. Plus its fighting a losing battle with the shift in the mindset of an average fan. You see, it does NOT matter how many people follow Test cricket via cricinfo or casual viewing. What matters is whether they follow Test cricket in a way that BRINGS in the revenues (that is by going to the stadium or watching it on TV thereby increasing the TRPs). Its a business world today. You either bring in the numbers or you get thrown out. There will come a time when smaller boards will simply stop fighting for Test cricket and do whatever it takes to bring in the revenues (aka LOI cricket). Right now we are starting to see the emergence of the useless 2 Test series. Things will only get worse. If there is one thing that can prolong Test cricket's existence, its the respect associated with it. A guy like Raina is desperate to play test cricket NOT because he will make more money doing so or he will get more endorsement deals. Its because he knows that Test performers are rated and remembered by people more so than LOI performers. Whether that's right or wrong is immaterial (don't want to get into that debate). Its just the way it is. Even the cricket administrators feel they need to preserve Test cricket (which is why efforts are made to even arrange for Test series amongst non box office teams). Die hard fans care about test cricket too. All this would only help prolong the life of Test cricket. But it won't be enough to save them. That's the way it is. I don't want it to become extinct but by the looks of it, it will. As I said, its a business world today. You either bring in the numbers or you get thrown out.

[velu]

nice topic Leo :giggle:

[sensible-indian]

The Ashes is the one Test series which probably brings in more revenues than a regular ODI series. Apart from that, every cricketing board gets to make more money if they arrange a regular ODI series in place of a Test series. Its not hard to see where this is going.

[Vilander]

If miraculously Indians start performing well in Aus/England/SA in tests then it will live.

[rajmarie]

Hoping its way earlier then that. Test has become very boring and one sided as well. Not to mention no revenue in it. ODI/T20 is funding Test. When Test will stop.....interesting T20 leagues can finally grow. IPL ki jai

[kosingh]

All three results are possible!

[G_B_]

I think test cricket will exist. The amount of tests played will decrease. If you look at India since WC 2011 we do have a win loss ratio close to 1. So its not been all doom and gloom. Yes we have been abysmal overseas. But we have been super at home. I think our home record is better even than South Africa. So the issue is the conditions are not particularly the format. Outside asia India are not on a firm footing despite the ODI series win in England or even the champions league. Especially not on pitches of the southern hemisphere countries.

[YCCC]

The day Test cricket 'dies' everywhere but England and Australia will be the day I stop following the sport. Annual ashes series would be tedious. Heck, it's already getting to that stage now, with just one calendar year (2012) out of the last five containing no ashes cricket whatsoever and another one next year

[suraj]

Indian players don't give crap about test cricket in 2014. Pak doesn't get to play, SL plays but relative interest in watching Lankans play is limited, cricket takes far second to Rugby in NZ & WI board is always in shambles Hard for sport to survive with only Eng, Aus and SA to watch and not having rich boards like BCCI

[Deleted_User_1]

Unfortunately YES! Society has moved towards instant gratification. I think eventually even ODIs will die leaving only tonty-tonty!!

[Deleted_User_1]

Indian players don't give crap about test cricket in 2014. Pak doesn't get to play, SL plays but relative interest in watching Lankans play is limited, cricket takes far second to Rugby in NZ & WI board is always in shambles Hard for sport to survive with only Eng, Aus and SA to watch and not having rich boards like BCCI

++ India will be one of the main reasons for this death!!

[gaurav92]

No never. Test Cricket is here to stay.

[Sachin=GOD]

Since 1970s many 'experts' have been predicting the death of test cricket. Test cricket is still alive but many of those 'experts' are dead.

[Precambrian]

Already dead in all countries except Eng and Aus. Check the attendances in test matches. Compare that with ODI or even T20 cricket. You get the picture. Why SA, despite being at the top league for most of their history still struggling to play 9 tests in a year? Why there is a stark difference in number of tests played by Ind/Aus/Eng vs the rest? The answer is simple, the big three can AFFORD to play more test matches because of their rich coffers. Sellout crowds are a myth in India now for tests, even the main centers are struggling to fill 50% for Marquee tests. Now with Sachin gone, half of that crowd is also gone as well. Even the faithful NRI population seems to have deserted test cricket - obviously because of the Sachin factor. How many of the "purists" here really sit and watch every ball of a test match? How many of these "purists" will happily allow their children to follow test match cricket thus? How many of these "purists" would happily take their families out for atleast two days of a test match happening at their place? I have asked the above questions to atleast one self proclaimed "purist" here, but never received a reply. I don't see "purists" but I see only "hypocrites". Test cricket is for me nothing but a dinosaur, long past its sell-by, living completely on returns of other formats, unloved, not cared for, and supported by only a tiny minority who don't really happen to care about it as well. I hope the corpse is put to rest soon.

[Precambrian]

Fans are slowly losing interest in Test cricket, the attendances at games is appalling and the viewing audience also is dropping. It doesnt matter if India were the Number 1 on the tables, fans simply dont care. ........................ The deplorable one sided nature of Test cricket between India and England since the 2nd Test, is actually a dangerous setting to destroy Test cricket forever. No one wants to watch a 5 day test match end inside 3 days, which you may say is ironic given that it quickens the game. The problem with one sided matches ending inside 3 days is that its an ugly spectacle. ODIs and more so T20 is an excellent way to bring a lot of parity to all teams, which is important. I am sure many Indians world wide turned off test cricket when India started to get bashed and smashed. Losing was one thing, but seeing a Test team humiliated is a very very dangerous harmful spectacle for the good of the game.

I completely agree with your first paragraph. But your next two paragraphs above kind of contradicts the first paragraph. The cause-effect in fact I think is the other way around. Indian fans stopped caring for test cricket long back, probably by the turn of the century it was over. It's just that their nostalgia and love for superstars, especially Sachin Tendulkar, which kept them still barely interested, and the extent of interest as usual was when the time he batted. The players follow the markets, with the explosion of IPL and the money from it, it is only natural that youngsters would float to it. And that is exactly what has happened in the last 10 years, most of our youngsters have decided to prioritise shorter form of cricket, and there is absolutely nothing wrong in that. And no, away test cricket isn't all test cricket. We whitewashed Aus team 4-0 just a while back remember. But did that have any effect on the following? I don't think so. None of the matches had any sort of good crowds from memory.

[SRT100]

I will ask you all one question, 5 T20 matches played 5 days in a row versus 1 5 day test match. Which format will receive the highest attendance and what will produce the greatest revenue after 5 days. Its obvious that T20 will win by a landslide. Test cricket is dying and remember its not easy for sport to just disappear it takes time, but it will. I think Test cricket will end up like the World Cup, ie played every 4 years.

[SRT100]

Test cricket will die. You see, it does NOT matter how many people follow Test cricket via cricinfo or casual viewing. What matters is whether they follow Test cricket in a way that BRINGS in the revenues (that is by going to the stadium or watching it on TV thereby increasing the TRPs).

This is so true, I may follow the Indian team on cricinfo, but I have little interest in seeing Test cricket being played live. If I buy a ticket for one day of a test match I might be lucky to see India bat, conversely I may just only see India bowl for an entire day. How boring would that be. Whereas if I buy a T20/ODI ticket, I get the whole lot, Batting, bowling, exciting fielding and the crowd with a lot of energy and vibe. It makes economical sense for me to spend my $$$$ wisely to get the most bang for my dollar.

[SRT100]

The cause-effect in fact I think is the other way around. Indian fans stopped caring for test cricket long back, probably by the turn of the century it was over. It's just that their nostalgia and love for superstars, especially Sachin Tendulkar, which kept them still barely interested, and the extent of interest as usual was when the time he batted. .

Would you say that the peak of interest of Indian cricket in Tests was when India win in Kolkata ie The Miracle of Kolkata in 2001??? I remember watching it in Australia, pubs were packed with people following the game. LOL. Back then I was the only Indian supporter cheering them on in there. I loved seeing the jam packed ground of the 2nd and 3rd Tests against Australia in 2001. But Indian test cricket has not produced that level of interest since. Mind you we were blessed with bona fide match winners in Test cricket in Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid and Kumble.