World Test Final Takes Centre Stage Amid T20 Boom
Faizan Hashmi Published June 06, 2023 | 08:20 AM
London, June 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jun, 2023 ) :The World Test Championship final between Australia and India at the Oval starts Wednesday against a backdrop of fears for the long format given the growth of Twenty20 franchise leagues.
Not that there's anything new about cricket-lovers worrying about the future of their sport.
Indeed it was following an 1882 Test at the Oval, after Australia had inflicted England's first defeat on home soil, that the Sporting Times published a mock obituary of English cricket that referenced its cremation, with "the Ashes taken to Australia".
The Ashes has since become a shorthand for Anglo-Australian Test cricket, with a five-match series in England starting next week -- just days after the scheduled finish of the WTC final.
One current concern is that the riches on offer to leading players from T20 tournament such as the Indian Premier League, and the vastly shorter time it takes to earn the money than by playing five-day Test cricket, makes the traditional format of the game much less attractive to leading modern-day players.
The International Cricket Council's response was to devise the WTC, a two-year cycle of games culminating in a final, in order to give Test cricket greater context.
This week's match marks the culmination of the second edition, with New Zealand having defeated India in the inaugural 2021 final at Southampton.
Australia and India are two of cricket's major on and off-field powers, together with England, and the 'Big Three' play the majority of five-match Test series.
The proximity of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston starting on June 16 has led to the WTC final being labelled a "warm-up" game for Australia.
- 'Big week' - But Australia star batsman Steve Smith, whose side just missed out on the inaugural final, after losing their last home series India, is adamant it is a match his side want to win just as much as a 50-over or T20 World Cup final.
"We're all just looking forward to this (match against India)," Smith told reporters at the Oval on Monday.
"It's two years in the making, of getting to the final of the World Test Championship, it's a big week for us and India, so we'll get through this then we'll focus after that.
"Every game you play for your country is important." And India coach Rahul Dravid said: "It's something you aspire to, to be in the top two teams so you get an opportunity to play this game." The former India batsman added the fact New Zealand had won the first final after qualifying via the ICC's weighted points system, was proof of how teams whose cricket economics mean they are often restricted to two-Test series, could still be competitive at Test level.
"If you play less you still have the opportunity to make it to the final, as New Zealand showed last time," said Dravid. "Actually playing less gives you an opportunity to protect your resources." When India, now cricket's financial powerhouse, won the 1983 one-day World Cup final, it transformed the format's status in the sport's most populous nation and with it the economy of the global game.
It was a similar story in 2007 when Indian officials' scepticism about T20 cricket evaporated after India's dramatic victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2007 World Twenty20 final in South Africa.
Dravid, however, was sceptical over whether a victory for India, set to be roared on by thousands of passionate fans at the Oval, the south London headquarters of county side Surrey, would have a similar effect.
"Test cricket faces unique challenges, which are not necessarily going to change as a result of one game," he said.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Bugti assures transporters for addressing their problems
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar meets foreign min ..
3 drug peddlers arrested, hashish recovered
1496,990 children given polio drops in five days: DC
Six terrorists killed, hideout busted in N Waziristan IBO: ISPR
Pakistan, Qatar agree to further expand trade, investment ties
Sindh cabinet approves Rs177.5m to strengthen, mobilize various wings of police
Faisal Karim Kundi takes oath as new KP Governor
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Chaudhry seeks more vibrant ..
Tahaffuz Manzil Foster Home providing care & support to homeless children
PCB proposes April 7 -May 20 window; tweaks in rules for HBL PSL 2025
Field hospitals now operational across Punjab: Azma Bukhari
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
American band promotes intercultural harmony thru music fusions
9 hours ago -
Waste Management – A persistent challenge for MWMC
2 days ago -
Experts for ending child labour
3 days ago -
Labour Day - A reminder for better facilities to workers
4 days ago -
Stage Drama Mohabati Manhoon presents in Arts council Larkana
6 days ago -
Wheat farmers in a fix on price, procurement mechanism
7 days ago
-
Modern tools to help transform crime investigation procedures
7 days ago -
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
7 days ago -
Modern Education Techniques: A pathway to achieve economic development
9 days ago -
Kite Flying: From cultural festival to deadly sport
9 days ago -
PDMA predicts gusty wind, rain with thunder, hails
11 days ago -
Iranian president Raisi given guard of honour at PM House
12 days ago