It is with a dose of mirth and a dollop of bemusement that the mayor of Perth and the premier of South Australia both should lend their political heft to the Test cricket debate.
Basil Zempilas (Perth) and Peter Malinauskas (South Australia) look to be typical Aussies, who follow their sport closely and no doubt have a special spot for the summer game. Well done to them. But if you don’t make some meaningful contribution to Test cricket in your states then there will be no need for social media combat at all – the game will cease to exist.
You have to love the Victorians who turned up in significant numbers, once again, to the Boxing Day Test. Pakistan showed a flicker of fight in Perth and were not quite deserving of an easybeat tag. Yes, they have a dreadful record in Australia going back 40 years, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t come here for a contest. Their mettle at the MCG was strong. They were knee-deep in it until they couldn’t resist the irresistible Pat Cummins late on day four. The crowds appreciated the battle.
Test cricket in this country certainly has the outward appearance of being alive, but what of the invidious advance of 20-over tournaments throughout the globe? The mayor and the premier might be squabbling over an empty pot.
The record IPL contracts for Pat Cummins ($3.67 million) and Mitchell Starc ($4.43 million) are not simply talking points. The cash is the reality of modern cricket – and there’s nothing unusual or wrong with that; it is life. Australian cricket has been fortunate that Starc has eschewed the IPL for a number of years and that Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who both played the recent IPL seasons, have also chosen to prioritise Test cricket. Those three great fast bowlers have been the engine room of sustained Test success, and quality replacements take years to develop.
The creep across the calendar of T20 competitions is certainly a concern for Test cricket, but it is not an issue for the game as a whole. Cricket, in some form or another, is thriving.
David Warner will back up with the Delhi Capitals in the 2024 Indian Premier League.Credit: AP
Private ownership of cricket is also not a new concept. International cricket was privately financed and owned as far back as the 19th century; tours had to be profitable or there was no cricket at all. The wheel has turned full circle in that respect. Cricket authorities invented themselves to bring some order to the chaos that the competing professional game had conceived. We are returned to the chaos of private team ownership in private tournaments. The official cricket boards are up against the unstoppable force of money, and they had better evolve or perish.
Even the omnipotent Board of Control for Cricket in India is being challenged by Saudi money, and we know what they did with golf – offering not tens but hundreds of millions of dollars to procure talent.
Money is an unstoppable force in cricket, and the game needs to evolve or perish
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30.12.2023
It is with a dose of mirth and a dollop of bemusement that the mayor of Perth and the premier of South Australia both should lend their political heft to the Test cricket debate.
Basil Zempilas (Perth) and Peter Malinauskas (South Australia) look to be typical Aussies, who follow their sport closely and no doubt have a special spot for the summer game. Well done to them. But if you don’t make some meaningful contribution to Test cricket in your states then there will be no need for social media combat at all – the game will cease to exist.
You have to love the Victorians who turned up in significant numbers, once again, to the Boxing Day Test. Pakistan showed a flicker of fight in Perth and were not quite........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
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