WTC and bilateral series

[silentstriker]

As I'm watching India play their Test matches - it used to be that I would care about the current Test - and if it was a Test vs a side like BD, I woudn't really care except as preparation for the next big series. But now with the WTC and the point system - I care a lot about just getting the maxmimum possible number of points per Test. And I think I am more invested in non-marquee series because of that reason. I think this is both good and bad - I don't want the WTC to diminish the importance of the marquee bilateral series, but I also enjoy that I am looking forward to something on a multiple year basis. It's such a simplistic system, with many flaws, but I already really enjoy it. And I am paying more attention to the Test series involving countries I usually only follow peripherally - just because of the WTC point system.

Has anyone else found this to be happening to them as well?

 

[Daemon]

I welcomed the idea but thus far I just can't bring myself to care much about it. So to answer the question, the WTC hasn't made this Bangladesh series feel any more important to me.

Interest will definitely pick up closer to the finals though, especially if there are some interesting points table scenarios.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

not entirely relevant but the wheel has been broken now, right?

 

[ishqiya]

not entirely relevant but the wheel has been broken now, right?

a new wheel has been formed.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I give it no thought whatsoever, and won’t until a series nearer the time that could be decisive. However it’s probably just as well that our current series in New Zealand doesn’t count anyway.

 

[silentstriker]

I give it no thought whatsoever, and won’t until a series nearer the time that could be decisive. However it’s probably just as well that our current series in New Zealand doesn’t count anyway.

It doesn’t?

 

[ataraxia]

It doesn't, sadly enough. Would be better if they redistributed the matches for 3/4-test series' and cut out this tour IMO.

 

[jimmy101]

Hard to think of any other international sports competitions that weight certain results more than others like the WTC does.

I don't really understand why bi-lateral series became pointless all of a sudden either. Seemed to work just fine for everyone for more than a century beforehand.

 

[honestbharani]

I would rather see an actual tournament with the top 8 sides once in 4 years.. You can do 4 games at a time and you can divide them into two groups and then have semis and finals.

 

[ataraxia]

#semiandfinalbetimelessplz

 

[jimmy101]

I would rather see an actual tournament with the top 8 sides once in 4 years.. You can do 4 games at a time and you can divide them into two groups and then have semis and finals.

Agree with you 1000% HB. Would be an awesome tournament to look forward to every 4 years and it would also give new meaning to the Test match rankings. Have no idea why they won't go down this route.

 

[CricAddict]

Agree with you 1000% HB. Would be an awesome tournament to look forward to every 4 years and it would also give new meaning to the Test match rankings. Have no idea why they won't go down this route.

Should have got to do with the ROI they can make with such a tournament. Unless the host country is England or Australia, not sure how many people will turn up to watch neutral sides in a test match.

But it will be awesome if they can do it.

 

[CricAddict]

ftr, Kohli himself has said in couple of interviews that he is not happy with the current WTC structure even though India is at top right now.

 

[jimmy101]

Should have got to do with the ROI they can make with such a tournament. Unless the host country is England or Australia, not sure how many people will turn up to watch neutral sides in a test match.

But it will be awesome if they can do it.

Wouldn't sponsorship/TV rights cover this? Similarly, you wouldn't imagine all that many people attending a match with two neutral sides playing in an ODI World Cup match, but ROI doesn't seem to be a factor. Plus we've had things like the Asian Test Championship in the past.

 

[vcs]

I don't think it is adding too much context to series at this stage. It's already so lopsided, with India's red-hot form and early run of winnable series putting them miles ahead of everyone else. Maybe if two teams are facing off late in the cycle in a "winner reaches the final" scenario, but not right now.

I'm not a fan of treating Test series as "preparation for tougher tours ahead" either. India seemed to go in against Sri Lanka with that type of attitude in 2017 and only came out with a 1-0 win. The mace and Test ranking points are good enough context even if the WTC didn't exist.

 

[vcs]

Test cricket needs a bit of a shot in the arm right now. SA's decline is really worrying, Pakistan are stagnating, England are ridiculously up and down (more down these days).

India are outstanding, NZ are very good, and I feel like Australia should be a clear No. 3, but weirdly they're still behind England and SA.

 

[honestbharani]

ftr, Kohli himself has said in couple of interviews that he is not happy with the current WTC structure even though India is at top right now.

Virat this year and even last year has been excellent representative and role model when it comes to how he handles himself off field and the captaincy responsibilities. It maybe a bitter pill for many to swallow but the reality is he has shown class, courage, confidence and clarity to the utmost degree and has been a credit to the sport and to the country itself. His interviews on this topic and his classy response to the absolute childish drivel from Paine and, earlier, Rabada, shows how far he has come along as a person.

 

[Daemon]

Virat this year and even last year has been excellent representative and role model when it comes to how he handles himself off field and the captaincy responsibilities. It maybe a bitter pill for many to swallow but the reality is he has shown class, courage, confidence and clarity to the utmost degree and has been a credit to the sport and to the country itself. His interviews on this topic and his classy response to the absolute childish drivel from Paine and, earlier, Rabada, shows how far he has come along as a person.

Agree completely with Kohli’s turnaround.

What’s the Paine/Rabada thing about?

 

[vcs]

Paine said something along the lines of "we'd like to play India next year at the Gabba, but we'd have to run it by Virat" in response to a question about their record in Brisbane. No idea about Rabada.

All a storm in a teacup. Lame.

 

[Daemon]

Paine said something along the lines of "we'd like to play India next year at the Gabba, but we'd have to run it by Virat" in response to a question about their record in Brisbane. No idea about Rabada.

All a storm in a teacup. Lame.

That’s quite funny tbh. But still, quite the measured response from Kohli.