World Cup-winning coach Dav Whatmore voiced concerns about the sustainability of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) multi-million dollar initiative to support Test cricket, suggesting that several countries, especially associate nations, may abandon the ‘costly’ red-ball format entirely.
The ICC is mulling a dedicated fund of at least USD 15 million for Test cricket that would increase the minimum match payment for Test players and cover the cost of sending teams on overseas tours.
“Saving Test cricket is one of the challenges. The ICC is very keen to maintain some sort of status in Test match cricket. They have created a pool of money to assist countries that are struggling. A step in the right direction, but I’m not sure how sustainable that is,” Whatmore told PTI on the sidelines of the Cricket Predicta Conclave here.
“There are a number of countries, particularly the Associates, which may abandon the red-ball [format] and focus on the white-ball,” he added.
The dedicated fund would support national boards that struggle to compete with the wages offered in global T20 competitions.
“It is a very costly format of the game. A number of countries do it really well, and they’re very successful at it, but there’s also many who are struggling. India, Australia, and England appear to be the only three countries prioritising Test cricket, with India reaching the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC) on both occasions.”
Whatmore attributes this success to the presence of a strong red-ball domestic calendar.
“It appears as though those three countries are very strong in their domestic red-ball tournaments, and that reflects internationally,” he said.
“New Zealand played in the championship not all that long ago. They’re also keen to be active in that format, but they’re struggling when they travel to the Subcontinent. They’ll be tested again when they come to India.”
The 70-year-old, who coached Sri Lanka to the World Cup in 1996, lauded India for its robust domestic calendar while adding that the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Under-19 program contribute significantly to accelerating player development.
“Well, it’s very robust. It’s a very good, strong, healthy domestic calendar that throws up very good new cricketers that come along, and then you add IPL onto that. It really does accelerate development for a lot of youngsters.
“Add to that the Under-19 program, which is always successful. There’s always been one or two boys that continue on with a very good form from every second year in the World Cup, and they’ve been successful in winning the World Cup too on many occasions. So, all in all, it’s a very good one.”
While Bangladesh registered a historic Test series victory against Pakistan and host Sri Lanka defeated New Zealand, the two struggled against India and England, respectively.
Whatmore, who has coached both the teams in the past, feels they need to be more consistent.
“Sri Lanka were reasonably competitive in England, and they come back to their own conditions, which they are very familiar with and having won some very important tosses in Galle, makes it very difficult for touring teams, particularly the Western countries. So, they’re doing well, and so is Bangladesh. They did well against Pakistan, but then they had a real tough time in Chennai in the first against India. So, overall, they are very encouraging performances, but you’ve got to have consistency, and that’s what will separate the teams,” he added.
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