How much time does Test cricket have left?

[S.Kennedy]

Good points GK but there is obviously a problem where richer countries have better cricketers while poor countries have substandard cricketers. It's pretty apparent right now imo there is a growing imbalance between cricketers between rich and poor countries. It's more pronounced than ever, raw talent won't be able to propel teams anymore like in the amateur era, so how is cricket going to address this problem?

Yet,

Bangladesh v English this year
Sri Lanka v Oz this year
England v Sri Lanka (2014)
Sri Lanka v the great Aussie side (1999-00)
Pakistan v Zimbabwe (98 -99)

Despite everything you've said, which is all true, the poorer countries do still produce giant killings, and do produce great players - albeit this is more the Sri Lankans who have long since pushed above their weight.

Mehedi, Bangladesh spinner, has just been unearthed this year.

India, Pakistan, West Indies all began their test playing life with arguably worse circumstances. Pakistan was a brand new nation who had just suffered the horrors of partition yet managed to beat England at The Oval in the 1950s.

 

[Adders]

Whereas England for instance will always have 11 players on the park that are at least test standard.

Actually thinking about it over the last 40 years that's not true at all LOL.

But the general point I was making still stands.

 

[TheJediBrah]

"Test standard" is a highly variable and subjective rating though

 

[S.Kennedy]

England's players during the '90s were not even ''pub team standard''.

 

[Adders]

"Test standard" is a highly variable and subjective rating though

OK, lets just say that for all the money at their disposal it would seem that England regularly produce teams full of average to above average, some even very good cricketers.....1 through to 11 but without any (many) superstars or players that we talk about as ATG. Poorer sides such as Sri Lanka have managed to churn out teams with Murali and Sanga in them, genuine ATG material.......but those sides would also have at least 4 spuds in them that wouldn't get close to the Eng side.

 

[Adders]

England's players during the '90s were not even ''pub team standard''.

True that.......which is why on reflection I added my amendment.

 

[DriveClub]

Actually thinking about it over the last 40 years that's not true at all LOL.

But the general point I was making still stands.

I agree it was the case in the amateur era before 2000 but it is highly unlikely going forward. WI are still looking for those atg cricketers that can carry the rest of the team and I'm not mistaken in thinking SL will go down the same route.

 

[TheJediBrah]

OK, lets just say that for all the money at their disposal it would seem that England regularly produce teams full of average to above average, some even very good cricketers.....1 through to 11 but without any (many) superstars or players that we talk about as ATG. Poorer sides such as Sri Lanka have managed to churn out teams with Murali and Sanga in them, genuine ATG material.......but those sides would also have at least 4 spuds in them that wouldn't get close to the Eng side.

I always just figured that was because England was full of English people

 

[centurymaker]

England have had the luxury of South Africa cricketers moving there, which has somewhat helped with fielding 'more' Test Standard players on average.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Reminds me of when the South Africans were in England (it might have been 2012) and the Proteas' supporters unfurled a banner: ''our South Africans are better than your South Africans'' haha.

 

[vcs]

Boxing, although far from dead, was much more ubiquitous before the sanctioning bodies got greedy and made it pay-per-view - that and the assembly line of great boxers running a bit dry after Tyson, Lewis etc.

Good. It's an unpopular opinion but I think professional boxing should be outlawed. Not a fan of sports where the objective is to hurt the opponent.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Good. It's an unpopular opinion but I think professional boxing should be outlawed. Not a fan of sports where the objective is to hurt the opponent.

Not a fan of the West Indian bowling of the '80s then?

 

[vcs]

Hitting opponents is not the primary objective of cricket.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Hitting opponents is not the primary objective of cricket.

Debatable when you look at the footage of Holding, Gardner etc.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Hitting opponents is not the primary objective of cricket.

maybe the way you play

 

[Daemon]

Hitting opponents is not the primary objective of cricket.

good example of the mentality that results in a lack of fast bowlers.

 

[artvandalay]

Cricket in general is and always has been an elitist sport and people who say that it isn't dying are honestly in some kind of denial. Ashes series every 2 years when the rest of the cricketing world can barely put out a test standard side is not really a great sign of it being thriving in the event it happens. Already the number of subcontinental expats representing England has gone up steadily and you can see the number of Pakistanis who are playing in associate countries. black West Indians don't take the interest in cricket that they used to and regardless of how good test attendances were for the England series subcontinental people don't really care that much about the longest format compared to the ipl or t20 cricket. Pink ball cricket was an important step but being as it is, it's difficult to play it in Asia during non-working hours unless the pink ball can handle abrasive outfields. It would not surprise me if in 2 decades time the game ended up like baseball with India being the equivalent of the US and the game surviving because of its popularity in the subcontinent.

 

[centurymaker]

Good. It's an unpopular opinion but I think professional boxing should be outlawed. Not a fan of sports where the objective is to hurt the opponent.

Yup, it's totally an animal sport.

We all have such animal instincts but they are normally triggered in times of strong anger, hate or threat. But to have such animalistic violence in your mind that you play that "sport" or enjoy that "sport" is a sign of not having evolved that much as a human..

 

[S.Kennedy]

Cricket in general is and always has been an elitist sport and people who say that it isn't dying are honestly in some kind of denial. Ashes series every 2 years when the rest of the cricketing world can barely put out a test standard side is not really a great sign of it being thriving in the event it happens. Already the number of subcontinental expats representing England has gone up steadily and you can see the number of Pakistanis who are playing in associate countries. black West Indians don't take the interest in cricket that they used to and regardless of how good test attendances were for the England series subcontinental people don't really care that much about the longest format compared to the ipl or t20 cricket. Pink ball cricket was an important step but being as it is, it's difficult to play it in Asia during non-working hours unless the pink ball can handle abrasive outfields. It would not surprise me if in 2 decades time the game ended up like baseball with India being the equivalent of the US and the game surviving because of its popularity in the subcontinent.

If any of this is true, I will have long since stopped watching cricket and infact turned into one of its biggest haters.

 

[Daemon]

Already the number of subcontinental expats representing England has gone up steadily

Not sure why this is a problem or indicative of one?