Less than three years ago, Kyle Mayers startled the cricket world when he made an unbeaten fourth-innings double century on Test debut to lead the West Indies to a rousing victory in Bangladesh.

Don’t bother, though, to look for Mayers when remnants of the Windies straggle out to play Australia in the first of two so-called Test matches in Adelaide on Wednesday. He will be in South Africa, representing the Durban Super Giants in a competition called the SA20. Most of the West Indies’ first-choice players will be there, too, or at an overlapping T20 tournament in Dubai, leaving a skeleton squad to fetch up in Australia.

Kyle Mayers in action for the West Indies in a T20 international.Credit: AP

How much cricket Mayers actually plays for Durban is an open question. There are 22 in the Super Giants squad, to cover a one-month, 10-game competition. Another on the list is immediate past West Indies captain Jason Holder, though he says he will be playing in the UAE (where, for five group games each, teams will run 18-20 man squads).

Evidently, in this T20 world, it is possible to be in at least two places at once. Former England batsman Alex Hales, appearing momentarily for the Sydney Thunder in the BBL, is on the books of six clubs around the world at once. His concept of loyalty, he said this week, was to play for only one club in any given competition.

One of the others on the Durban roster with Holder and Mayers is Tony de Zorzi, an exciting young batsman who was set to open the batting for South Africa in a so-called two-Test series in New Zealand in early February until his late and irresistible call-up as injury cover by the Super Giants. The invitation was irresistible, which is to say Cricket South Africa said he could not say no.

De Zorzi played in South Africa’s recent eventful 1-1 draw with India, but his and South African cricket’s priorities then switched to SA20, leaving a shadow squad to travel to New Zealand. Yet another on the Durban rota is Heinrich Klassen, a star in last year’s 50-over World Cup, who - would you believe it? - just this week happened to retire from Test cricket.

Tony de Zorzi with Dean Elgar during the South Africa-India Test series last month.Credit: Getty Images

This is not where cricket’s going; it’s where it’s gone. T20 continues to muscle in on Test and 50-over cricket apace. There are now at least 12 and up to 15 short-form competitions in the world, depending on how you count them. As players, money, resources and attention gravitate to them, the game’s structure with Test cricket the pinnacle is crumbling.

Cricket is doing only what every other sport that can generate money has done; they’ve followed it. It’s both important and useless to protest it.

QOSHE - Test cricket split into two divisions is better than nothing at all - Greg Baum
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Test cricket split into two divisions is better than nothing at all

13 24
13.01.2024

Less than three years ago, Kyle Mayers startled the cricket world when he made an unbeaten fourth-innings double century on Test debut to lead the West Indies to a rousing victory in Bangladesh.

Don’t bother, though, to look for Mayers when remnants of the Windies straggle out to play Australia in the first of two so-called Test matches in Adelaide on Wednesday. He will be in South Africa, representing the Durban Super Giants in a competition called the SA20. Most of the West Indies’ first-choice players will be there, too, or at an overlapping T20 tournament in Dubai, leaving a skeleton squad to fetch up in Australia.

Kyle Mayers in action for the West Indies in a T20........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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