Modernising Test Cricket

[whufc]

I know we all love test cricket for its tradition and history. However the last few days (here and in Pakistan) has shown us that test cricket is still living in the history and most modernisation has been purely saved for t20 formats.

What changes do people want to see to test cricket

Immediate ones for me are:

-bad light should never be a reason to stop the game, turn the lights on a find a way to use a pink ball if needed.
-changing batting gloves should be saved for drinks breaks only
-pitches like Sydney should have full oval covers. If it’s not raining we should be able to play.

Is there more radical changes, should draws be part of test cricket, should teams be able to substitute players etc

[mighty_tiger_79]

should a days play start earlier?

[Armchair expert]

I think what I find most annoying is when there are rain delays etc. they don't take lunch / tea when its raining but rather wait and have it close to its scheduled time.

[Jim05]

I think what I find most annoying is when there are rain delays etc. they don't take lunch / tea when its raining but rather wait and have it close to its scheduled time.

The excuse is that Catering is all pre organised for set times and a costly expense to move it around. Surely in this day and age you can adjust a break by an hour or two?

[mighty_tiger_79]

I think what I find most annoying is when there are rain delays etc. they don't take lunch / tea when its raining but rather wait and have it close to its scheduled time.

The excuse is that Catering is all pre organised for set times and a costly expense to move it around. Surely in this day and age you can adjust a break by an hour or two?

surely thats not right?

[amber_fluid]

I think what I find most annoying is when there are rain delays etc. they don't take lunch / tea when its raining but rather wait and have it close to its scheduled time.

The excuse is that Catering is all pre organised for set times and a costly expense to move it around. Surely in this day and age you can adjust a break by an hour or two?

Give the poor bastards pre made sanga’s.
Problem solved!

[Jim05]

Why when you have good weather and good light can’t you extend play for an hour?
We have lost so much time time this test, keep them out there

[gadj1976]

I'm not sure this would modernise the game, but bring Test Cricket back to the most sought after format of the game. And to do that, it needs to be financially viable for players to strive after. I'm not sure most test playing nations have their best players striving for test cricket.

To modernise the game;

Pink ball - less interruptions for bad light which has been a blight on the Sydney test
A MINIMUM of 90 overs per day (I've watched a lot of cricket and can't honestly remember the last time I've seen 90 overs in a day)
Day night tests all around Australia
Remove the '3' reviews per inning
Flexibility in the scheduling, with teams, grounds and also timeslots especially when there is time lost as again we've seen in Sydney.

The WTC has been great but its flawed due to the standard of the game. If Sth Africa are third prior to this series then there is something seriously wrong.

[whufc]

I'm not sure this would modernise the game, but bring Test Cricket back to the most sought after format of the game. And to do that, it needs to be financially viable for players to strive after. I'm not sure most test playing nations have their best players striving for test cricket.

To modernise the game;

Pink ball - less interruptions for bad light which has been a blight on the Sydney test
A MINIMUM of 90 overs per day (I've watched a lot of cricket and can't honestly remember the last time I've seen 90 overs in a day)
Day night tests all around Australia
Remove the '3' reviews per inning
Flexibility in the scheduling, with teams, grounds and also timeslots especially when there is time lost as again we've seen in Sydney.

The WTC has been great but its flawed due to the standard of the game. If Sth Africa are third prior to this series then there is something seriously wrong.

The only issue with the WTC is it spans over 3 years…..lots can change in 3 years. The theory that each team plays every other team scoring points is the perfect system. Unfortunately there is no way that can happen in a shorter time span.

[mighty_tiger_79]

I'm not sure this would modernise the game, but bring Test Cricket back to the most sought after format of the game. And to do that, it needs to be financially viable for players to strive after. I'm not sure most test playing nations have their best players striving for test cricket.

To modernise the game;

Pink ball - less interruptions for bad light which has been a blight on the Sydney test
A MINIMUM of 90 overs per day (I've watched a lot of cricket and can't honestly remember the last time I've seen 90 overs in a day)
Day night tests all around Australia
Remove the '3' reviews per inning
Flexibility in the scheduling, with teams, grounds and also timeslots especially when there is time lost as again we've seen in Sydney.

The WTC has been great but its flawed due to the standard of the game. If Sth Africa are third prior to this series then there is something seriously wrong.

to make it worse, i think Sth Africa were 2nd

[Lightning McQueen]

I'm not sure this would modernise the game, but bring Test Cricket back to the most sought after format of the game. And to do that, it needs to be financially viable for players to strive after. I'm not sure most test playing nations have their best players striving for test cricket.

To modernise the game;

Pink ball - less interruptions for bad light which has been a blight on the Sydney test
A MINIMUM of 90 overs per day (I've watched a lot of cricket and can't honestly remember the last time I've seen 90 overs in a day)
Day night tests all around Australia
Remove the '3' reviews per inning
Flexibility in the scheduling, with teams, grounds and also timeslots especially when there is time lost as again we've seen in Sydney.

The WTC has been great but its flawed due to the standard of the game. If Sth Africa are third prior to this series then there is something seriously wrong.

to make it worse, i think Sth Africa were 2nd

Didn’t they beat India?

[mighty_tiger_79]

Why cant we start earlier? Or is it purely for TV that the cricket runs into the 6pm news?

I also think there needs to be more flexibility with playing times.

Teams need to be bowlinng 90 overs a day. It simply isnt that hard. If teams cant keep up with the over rate than they need to be punished. when teams want to bowl more overs, its amazing how quick they can all get into positions

The review system needs a complete overhaul - or we simply just go back to accepting the on-field umpires decisions. they get some wrong, they get most correct.
when a batsman gets out - just get off the f#$##$!@%$%$@ ground asap, none of this sunday stroll on the beach pace wandering off, waiting for the review to show a no ball etc.

i agree with the pink ball.

there should also be a Test Final for the 2nd tier of nations which can be played before the main event. give these burgeoning countries a goal to aim for and an experience that can only benefit their development

[whufc]

I'm not sure this would modernise the game, but bring Test Cricket back to the most sought after format of the game. And to do that, it needs to be financially viable for players to strive after. I'm not sure most test playing nations have their best players striving for test cricket.

To modernise the game;

Pink ball - less interruptions for bad light which has been a blight on the Sydney test
A MINIMUM of 90 overs per day (I've watched a lot of cricket and can't honestly remember the last time I've seen 90 overs in a day)
Day night tests all around Australia
Remove the '3' reviews per inning
Flexibility in the scheduling, with teams, grounds and also timeslots especially when there is time lost as again we've seen in Sydney.

The WTC has been great but its flawed due to the standard of the game. If Sth Africa are third prior to this series then there is something seriously wrong.

to make it worse, i think Sth Africa were 2nd

Didn’t they beat India?

Yep

They had been really good the last 2.5 years until their last two series versus England at home and us here.

[mighty_tiger_79]

I'm not sure this would modernise the game, but bring Test Cricket back to the most sought after format of the game. And to do that, it needs to be financially viable for players to strive after. I'm not sure most test playing nations have their best players striving for test cricket.

To modernise the game;

Pink ball - less interruptions for bad light which has been a blight on the Sydney test
A MINIMUM of 90 overs per day (I've watched a lot of cricket and can't honestly remember the last time I've seen 90 overs in a day)
Day night tests all around Australia
Remove the '3' reviews per inning
Flexibility in the scheduling, with teams, grounds and also timeslots especially when there is time lost as again we've seen in Sydney.

The WTC has been great but its flawed due to the standard of the game. If Sth Africa are third prior to this series then there is something seriously wrong.

yeah at Home last summer.
to make it worse, i think Sth Africa were 2nd

Didn’t they beat India?

[Lightning McQueen]

Why cant we start earlier? Or is it purely for TV that the cricket runs into the 6pm news?

I also think there needs to be more flexibility with playing times.

Teams need to be bowlinng 90 overs a day. It simply isnt that hard. If teams cant keep up with the over rate than they need to be punished. when teams want to bowl more overs, its amazing how quick they can all get into positions

The review system needs a complete overhaul - or we simply just go back to accepting the on-field umpires decisions. they get some wrong, they get most correct.
when a batsman gets out - just get off the f#$##$!@%$%$@ ground asap, none of this sunday stroll on the beach pace wandering off, waiting for the review to show a no ball etc.

i agree with the pink ball.

there should also be a Test Final for the 2nd tier of nations which can be played before the main event. give these burgeoning countries a goal to aim for and an experience that can only benefit their development

They won’t start earlier as they’ll want the players to have a decent nights sleep, breakfast, exercise, a practice session and media commitments to fit in before the start of play.

[FlyingHigh]

Why cant we start earlier? Or is it purely for TV that the cricket runs into the 6pm news?

I also think there needs to be more flexibility with playing times.

Teams need to be bowlinng 90 overs a day. It simply isnt that hard. If teams cant keep up with the over rate than they need to be punished. when teams want to bowl more overs, its amazing how quick they can all get into positions

The review system needs a complete overhaul - or we simply just go back to accepting the on-field umpires decisions. they get some wrong, they get most correct.
when a batsman gets out - just get off the f#$##$!@%$%$@ ground asap, none of this sunday stroll on the beach pace wandering off, waiting for the review to show a no ball etc.

i agree with the pink ball.

there should also be a Test Final for the 2nd tier of nations which can be played before the main event. give these burgeoning countries a goal to aim for and an experience that can only benefit their development

They won’t start earlier as they’ll want the players to have a decent nights sleep, breakfast, exercise, a practice session and media commitments to fit in before the start of play.

Day Tests are already starting 1/2 hour earlier than the old days when they would start at 11.00 local time, to fit in the extra 1/2 hour.

[whufc]

Why cant we start earlier? Or is it purely for TV that the cricket runs into the 6pm news?

I also think there needs to be more flexibility with playing times.

Teams need to be bowlinng 90 overs a day. It simply isnt that hard. If teams cant keep up with the over rate than they need to be punished. when teams want to bowl more overs, its amazing how quick they can all get into positions

The review system needs a complete overhaul - or we simply just go back to accepting the on-field umpires decisions. they get some wrong, they get most correct.
when a batsman gets out - just get off the f#$##$!@%$%$@ ground asap, none of this sunday stroll on the beach pace wandering off, waiting for the review to show a no ball etc.

i agree with the pink ball.

there should also be a Test Final for the 2nd tier of nations which can be played before the main event. give these burgeoning countries a goal to aim for and an experience that can only benefit their development

Agree,

I think nearly everyone would agree the 90 overs should be played regardless, surely the 6pm news isn’t that popular these days.

Reckon once 90 overs was the minimum we would automatically see the game sped up.

[FlyingHigh]

There could be a difference between modernising Test cricket and the improvements we, as cricket lovers, would like to see.

Agree with Whuffer about the gloves, gadj about the 90 overs and AE about the breaks on an interrupted day.

Could we have a reserve Day 6. Not to make up for every 1/2 delay, but keep it simple so if a full session is lost, it is made up as such on Day 6.

[Lightning McQueen]

There could be a difference between modernising Test cricket and the improvements we, as cricket lovers, would like to see.

Agree with Whuffer about the gloves, gadj about the 90 overs and AE about the breaks on an interrupted day.

Could we have a reserve Day 6. Not to make up for every 1/2 delay, but keep it simple so if a full session is lost, it is made up as such on Day 6.

Glove changing is plain ridiculous, the standard of gloves today would be 1000 times better than what used to be around. Should only be changed if they’re torn or at a scheduled drinks break.

Even the Windies used to squeeze their overs in, they did use Viv and Larry a bit to push a few through with their 2-3 step run ups.

[FlyingHigh]

There could be a difference between modernising Test cricket and the improvements we, as cricket lovers, would like to see.

Agree with Whuffer about the gloves, gadj about the 90 overs and AE about the breaks on an interrupted day.

Could we have a reserve Day 6. Not to make up for every 1/2 delay, but keep it simple so if a full session is lost, it is made up as such on Day 6.

Glove changing is plain ridiculous, the standard of gloves today would be 1000 times better than what used to be around. Should only be changed if they’re torn or at a scheduled drinks break.

Even the Windies used to squeeze their overs in, they did use Viv and Larry a bit to push a few through with their 2-3 step run ups.

Agree the gloves would have to be heaps better than years ago. Stop the glover changes and drinks between overs, maybe have 2 shorter drinks breaks every 45 minutes.

Not sure about the Windies getting through their overs. Quite often it was a tactic to bowl their overs slower so they'd only get 80ish bowled or alternatively IIRC some times, ie 1991 over there, the conditions were overs had to be bowled, so they would go up to an hour over time.