Test cricket will soon not be viable, feels Alastair Cook

With the introduction of T20 cricket, there’s no arguing over the fact that popularity of the purest format of the game, Test cricket has decreased considerably. With the gradual shortening of the game, fans no longer took interested in an old-style slow-paced 5-day love affair between the bat and the ball. Former English skipper, Alastair Cook feels that Tests won’t be a viable option one day, and that day isn’t far away.

Fans flocking around the stadium in great numbers to watch a limited overs game is not a very rare sight. However, their enthusiasm and love for the game dampen when the players are in whites. Though cricketers still consider it as the ultimate format, T20 cricket leagues all over the world have unearthed various hidden talents, which forces one of the best cricketers to have donned the white jersey with Three Lions’ logo on it, Cook to conclude that soon, Test cricket will lose it feasibility.

“The game has evolved more quickly than I imagined it would do. Take South Africa v Bangladesh – no-one was watching the game, and soon it [Test cricket] will not be viable. There’s no money in it because that’s all in the T20 leagues – or T10 as it probably will be soon – and we have to be worried about that. That’s my opinion,” said the man from Gloucester side in an interview with the Wisden Cricket Monthly Magazine.

“T20 is a brilliant game but I think Test cricket is still the ultimate test of all-round skills. There has to be some meaning or context to the game. Somehow linking the three formats is a very good idea and Test cricket has to be subsidised too. Maybe in order for a T20 league to be sanctioned by ICC they have to give some of that money to preserve Test cricket,” the owner of 31 Test tons further added.

On the upcoming Ashes

Cook will be turning 33 next year, and he knows well that he might not be able to fight against the fierce Aussie bowlers at iconic grounds like Melbourne Cricket Ground again. Hence, when he was asked to comment on the upcoming Ashes, took the sweet pill of nostalgia and said: “It’s one of the great tours to go on. (Andrew) Strauss said that while he doesn’t miss the saying goodbye, there is jealousy in his eyes. This is a bloke who hasn’t played for five years wishing he was on the plane. You do have to appreciate that as a player.”

“I will give myself the odd minute at certain grounds because I’m very unlikely to be there in four years’ time. It’s where we want to be. We don’t get this opportunity very often – to play in front of 40,000 or the MCG in front of 90,000. Rather than shy away from it, look at it as an exciting challenge. Go out and see how good you are,” he concluded.