Dean Jones advocates introduction of Test World Cups
© Getty Images
Former Australian batsman, Dean Jones believes that Test cricket is at a crossroads and a Test World Cup is necessary to motivate the audiences to pay more attention to the longest format of the game. The 55-year-old also suggested reducing a Test match to just 4 days to keep viewers engaged.
"Test cricket is
Last year, a suggestion of dividing Test cricket into two leagues, the top one consisting of the seven best teams, was dismissed by the ICC after pressure from the Asian bloc led by the BCCI. But Jones feels that something needs to be done and suggested that a Test World Cup should be played every four years and the matches
"Five-day (Tests) is way too long, it can't keep people's attention. The game is based around TV, if you don't hold them for four hours then you're in trouble. If you look at all the great sports events around the world, they are built for TV...for four hours. Even the Augusta (golf major tournament), they only show on TV for four hours even though they play all day....they only show the telecast for four hours.
"We've played timeless Tests...Tests after the war were only three-day matches. I think the game needs to keep changing. There is only one law that hasn't changed in the game of cricket and that's the length of the pitch. Every other law has been manipulated and tweaked since its inception. We need to keep this game sexy," Jones added.
Recent numbers from Australia suggest that they have hit record attendances and television ratings, but that the introduction of day-night Test matches could have played a major part in the increase. However, Jones suggested that if the Asian countries don't pay much heed to it, Test cricket might be lost forever.
"India hated One-Day cricket...hated it and then they won it in 1983 (World Cup) and then they loved it and played it more than anybody else. India hated T20 cricket...all of a sudden they beat Pakistan in the inaugural World T20 (in 2007) and then T20 cricket was away. If the Asian countries don't gravitate towards Test cricket, then we've lost it. Even if Australia and England love it, we've lost it," Jones explained.
