Hadlee: Test cricket still top format

SIR RICHARD Hadlee, former New Zealand cricketing great, has pointed out that Test cricket is his preferred choice of the game, even though he has no problem with the growth of the one-day formats (50-overs and T20s).

The 62-year-old Hadlee was on a recent visit to Trinidad to promote the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, which will be staged jointly in Australia and New Zealand.

Hadlee noted, “I’m a purist in the sense that I believe in the traditional game, the five-day game, where skill, durability, technique, handling pressure over a period of time and changing conditions, that’s where I was brought up with and that’s where I go along with.

“But we all accept that the 50-over game and the T20 game subsidises and finances the longer version of the game,” he continued. “It generates huge wealth and income for cricketing bodies, and that money can go back into cricket. Good crowd participation because you want (an) atmosphere at the games, perhaps you don’t get that at Test cricket but certainly in one-dayers and T20s you’re getting massive crowds.”

“I would have gotten frustrated with it I think because the good quality ball that you can bowl, you’ll get hit for six, and I wouldn’t like that,” he said. “To me, it’s a form of cricket, it’s not real cricket. The real cricket is the Test game, and the game has evolved over a long period of time.

“So while Test cricket is traditional, the 50-over came about because it had appeal and now T20 is a totally different format, it will appeal to some people and others will dislike it,” he added. “But I think the key point is the three games need to co-exist, they need to live together.”

He admitted that he will not want to see T20 cricket take over the mantle as the top cricketing format globally.

He continued, “I was a pace-setter for five years, and people had to chase me. For someone like Kapil, who I respect greatly, I admired his success to go on to be number one. Since that time, people have gone on to 500, 600, 700 and now (Muttiah) Muralitharan has 800, quite phenomenal.

“I know what it takes for these players to get to that stage, with the fitness and longevity in the game, the skill factor and these sort of things. So I really appreciate and respect what they’ve done. So I had my time and then you let go, then you let others take over that mantle.”

[quote author=The Chairman link=topic=91125.msg574663#msg574663 date=1405090431]
“I would have gotten frustrated with it I think because the good quality ball that you can bowl, you’ll get hit for six, and I wouldn’t like that,” he said. “To me, it’s a form of cricket, it’s not real cricket. The real cricket is the Test game, and the game has evolved over a long period of time.
[/quote]

Hmmm like these fellas forget that cricket is NOT played for the benefit of the cricketers but for the public who pay to watch it.

I guess the public is some countries prefer unreal cricket.

Test cricket probably is the best format of the game, because the shorter the game the more luck seems to play a part. However, as technology plays a bigger part in our lives, people's attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, so it's understandable that many people, and particularly the younger generation, will be more interested in the shorter formats.

Nice points Gina !

I say the youths MUST learn to give up fast foods !

Tradition is precious and a century of it must NOT be influenced by this market.

Ashes TEST will be around forever.

West Indies is the ONLY suspect group that dislike 5 Days.

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD ) can be cured 

[quote author=Gina145 link=topic=91125.msg574743#msg574743 date=1405119023]

and particularly the younger generation, will be more interested in the shorter formats.
[/quote]

The Tail dont wag the Dog :

A message from us in Canada 

http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/underst...disorders/

Quote:[size=1.35em]In India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand - and even to a certain extent Australia - crowds for Test matches are falling. Set against the growing popularity of Twenty20 cricket (particularly in India and Australia) there are concerns at the highest levels of the game that its most traditional format could die out.[/size]

Test cricket: Does the oldest form of the game have a future?

Quote:Is cricket in danger of dying? Dean du Plessis  •  28 July 2013 10:41PM

HARARE - Throughout the modern years of cricket, there have been those who have been determined to make cricket a game for the elite.

They have gone out of their way to make it abundantly clear that they are not in favour of the game spreading or expanding.
Why these people have such an undisguised hatred of the smaller nations trying to make their way into the mainstream of world cricket, only they will know.

When Zimbabwe were pushing to gain full Test status, it took a huge amount of convincing both on, and especially off the field before it was finally put to the vote in July 1992.

Even then, it was with a great show of reluctance and displeasure that Zimbabwe were finally granted full Test status on July 8, 1992.

Six of the then eight Test playing nations agreed that Zimbabwe were ready to join the so-called family, while Australia and England were against the idea.

In order for a nation to be granted full Test status, seven of the nations had to vote in favour, which meant either England, or Australia had to relent.

Thankfully, Australia ?relented and, Zimbabwe were added to the Test family.

It all seemed rosy and good from the outside, with India and New Zealand touring Zimbabwe in October and November of 1992.
But, the undercurrents and resentment has never been far from the surface.

Like a big boil waiting to be lanced, the resentment has always been there amongst some of the nations.

England have always come up with excuses as to why they didn’t or indeed wouldn’t want to play Zimbabwe.
So much so that they forfeited their points and a lot of money in the 2003 World Cup, which backfired on them as they were sent packing after the first group stage.

Now, as the series between Zimbabwe and India is played, scathing remarks have already been made by a number of Indian journalists, if you can even call them journalists, asking questions such as... What’s in it for India?

Granted, the series up to this point has been pretty one-sided, say for a few performances from one or two Zimbabwean players, which in all fairness most people expected.

But, to answer the question directly, there is a lot in it for India.

India are making a massive contribution to ensure that cricket in Zimbabwe gains momentum, encouraging thousands of budding cricketers from all walks of life to work that much harder, while the senior players would undoubtedly learn and gain knowledge from the likes of Kohli, Sharma Dhawan and even the Indian coaching staff.

But, let’s take it further than that.
Zimbabwe are not the only ones bearing the brunt of a bunch of selfish stuck up snobs.
Ireland have been knocking on the door of Test status for a number of years, but, have been turned down on each and every occasion at ICC meetings.

We need only to remember their heroics of the 2007 World Cup, when they advanced to the super sixes of the tournament.
What really confuses/frustrates/angers me, is that although Ireland supposedly are not ready for Test cricket, you will find a number of their players playing county cricket, not club cricket in England.

England have also poached two of Ireland’s players to join their ever increasing list of non-English players, and yet, they still have the audacity to shout the odds about who should or should not be playing international cricket.

It is reported that the 2019 World Cup will only be played amongst 10 teams, which means that there is a real possibility that Zimbabwe may not be there.

Unless they improve considerably over the next six years. No prizes for guessing for where the 2019 World Cup will be held... (England of course).

So, now players in countries such as Holland, Kenya and the rest will be asking themselves what the point would be of trying to play cricket when the incentive of possibly playing Test cricket may never happen, simply because the super powers of world cricket may be responsible for killing the world’s most precious game.

bokie Dokie , Why you cutting and pasting all these Garbage writers ?

My threads are all you NEED