Lewis calls for love and attention to ignite interest in Test cricket
Former England captain supports idea of World Test Championship
Dubai: "The longer form of the game needs love and attention," remarked Tony Lewis, the former England captain, who is the chairman of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) World Cricket Committee to Gulf News.
Lewis was referring to the dwindling interest in Test cricket following the rise in the popularity of Twenty20 and One-day internationals. He was here to attend a meeting with the ICC Cricket Committee members.
"We [the MCC] commissioned some research and found out that Test cricket is declining in certain parts of the world. Bland pitches, slow over rates and drawn matches have played a big role in the decline. The affordability of tickets also had a significant influence. Times have changed and we want a bond between watching public and the game. We do feel that the marketing and packaging of Test cricket has become an urgent need for the game," he added.
Suggestion
Lewis went on to reveal that it was former New Zealand Test star Martin Crowe who has come out with a suggestion to ignite interest in Test cricket.
"Crowe suggested the idea of a Test championship. Players must be motivated to compete in an annual or biannual event. There are already World Championships in twenty and fifty-over cricket. World cricket needs a World Test Championship. Work should commence immediately on devising the appropriate format for it," he said
Lewis stressed on the importance of marketing Test cricket with the same enthusiasm with which Indian Premier League (IPL) was marketed recently.
"It is a fact that Test cricket is not being marketed sufficiently around the world, certainly not to the same extent as other forms of the game. A well-resourced marketing strategy is the need of the hour," he said.
Research was also conducted on spectators who used to attend Test matches but do not prefer watching Test matches now. The main reason they pointed out was the lack of time to attend and difficulty in getting to watch day-time matches.
Lewis said that experiments are being conducted to counter this problem. "We believe that a trial of day/night Test cricket could bring new audiences to the game."
