Test cricket is still pinnacle of cricket for me, says Jos Buttler
Even after seeing empty stands during Test matches all around the world, and the popularity of the T20 is on the rise, Jos Buttler still feels that Test cricket is still the pinnacle of cricket. He has also asked the administrators to find different ways to revive the game’s longest format.
Cricket originated in England but the first international match ever recorded was between Canada and USA in 1844. The 2 day Test match ended with Canada winning by 23 runs. This format saw a major overhaul over the past two centuries, as the longest format gave birth to smaller formats of the game which have now overtaken the popularity of Test cricket by a larger margin. Nowadays, a five-day game commences with empty stands, whereas the 50 over and the T20 have seen the stands being full. Seeing the popularity of the shorter format of the game, one might believe that Test cricket may die in a coming few years, but not for Jos Buttler.
“Test cricket is still, for me, the pinnacle of cricket but T20 fills out stadiums and is easy to keep up with and follow. Everyone wants things faster these days and things evolve so maybe Twenty20 could have a monopoly on cricket,” said the England wicketkeeper, reported Sky Sports.
“I feel cricket could become a one-format game in the future – whether that’s soon or in 15 to 20 years.”
People have been in
In 2012, England won a Test series in India by ending the undefeated run the hosts had been enjoying for the past 7 years. No one expected that England’s spinners Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann would share 19 wickets between them on a track which should have assisted the Indian spinners more. The performance of the spinning duo from England and Kevin Pietersen's knock of 183 runs ensured a ten-wicket win for the visitors that surprised the cricketing world.
Reiterating the importance of Test cricket, Buttler explained, “We all love the history of Test cricket – you will never have situations thrown up in T20 that Test cricket can do to you and you will never be tested as a player as you would in Test cricket. It’s a complete test of everything and it would be sad [if it disappeared], but as a product T20 is going from strength to strength. Hopefully, the administrators can find a way of making the Test game more popular – it’s awesome and I’d love to be playing in it.”
Buttler who averages just 38.5 in the Test cricket in the last one year and had a horrendous 2015 Ashes as he managed to average just 15.25 due to which he has missed out onto the Ashes squad for Australia this year.
“Not making the Ashes squad was a wake-up call that I have slipped down the ladder in red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket is obviously my strength. I thought if I’m serious about playing red-ball cricket I could give up the white-ball stuff for two years and spend winters playing red ball, but I feel like there are too many opportunities to go down that route,” he concluded.
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