If you were given an option of watching an ODI series involving the top teams in the world and the test series involving the bottom teams in the world, which one will you watch? The answer is pretty obvious, isn’t it? Another one. If you are given an option of watching the lower middle ranked teams battle for supremacy but with almost no hopes of a result against watching a movie or some other sport where there is excitement, which one would you prefer? Again, the answer is straight forward. This was how it felt when West Indies and Sri Lanka played a test series. What is the point of West Indies and Sri Lanka series when either team does not want to win?
West Indies and Sri Lanka recently played probably the most meaningless test series. This is in no way disrespecting of either of the sides nor is this meant to offend the teams or their supporters. World cricket is increasingly polarised into the so called big three with South Africa and New Zealand that come close to matching the big three though not in terms of financial means but in terms of cricketing prowess. Games that does not involve any of these teams or in some cases, two of these teams is hard enough to find spectators leave alone the fact other teams remain difficult to be sold.
About West Indies
Spectators in the Caribbean have long ago deserted the game and their team. Hardly a few hundred seats are sold in all the grounds in the Caribbean. Such has been the fall from grace for the West Indies team. Gone are the days when fans will be queueing in front of the gates for hours together to get in and watch some of the great West Indian batsman and bowlers play. Viv Richards and the bowling quarter were awe inspiring. Matches involving those players were never null and it was always a given that there will be a result.
About Sri Lanka
There was a time when Sri Lanka were absolutely unbeatable in their own island. Not only that, they even went to England and won a couple of tests including a series. They won in New Zealand and for awhile, Pakistan were really petrified of Sri Lanka. The likes of Sangakkara and Muralitharan have excelled against the best ably supported by Jayasurya and Jayawardene. Things have changed and not for the better.
Ofcourse, it is almost impossible to replace such greats and especially in islands that have stopped caring for the game. Nonetheless, in this day and age, it is important they produce cricket of a good quality and that the pitches help in producing good cricket.
Onus is on the teams
Alas, it wasn’t to be. Both the tests were drawn. A mere draw is not bad for the game but the manner of the draw is really troubling. Both the games weren’t high scoring. If that was the case, you can blame the pitch because it did not help the bowlers to be effective. It wasn’t the case. In all the 4 innings, except in one innings, the score never went above 400. When that was the case, you would expect that both the test to produce results but it didn’t. Did rain play spoilsport? It did rain but it did not last long to effect the result of the games.
This clearly shows that neither West Indies nor Sri Lanka were willing to go the extra mile to win the game. West Indies certainly did not want to lose to Sri Lanka in their own country. Sri Lanka was happy with not losing a series outside of their island.
On such pitches, when the games involving lower ranked teams are craving for attention, it is the responsibility of the respective teams to ensure good quality cricket and a result.
Phil Simmons has rightly voiced his opinion to produce result oriented pitches.
“I think we, from a country standpoint, need to get better wickets where we can have Test matches that will create a result,” he contended.
“Even if we lost a Test match after it’s gone to the fifth day, you will still think that we’ve done well to get to the fifth day and were in with a chance of winning the Test match, so I think that’s an important part of it.”
Conclusion
Yes India, Australia and England earn a lot of money from the game but it is not their responsibility to run other teams. They can help by playing the other teams often but it is upon the other boards to raise revenue from the game. The sooner teams like West Indies and Sri Lanka improve their game and their performance, it is better for world cricket. With hardly 12 teams playing the game, it is imperative the teams are competitive so that fans will be able to watch hard fought games. Remember, it is the fans who run the game.