Jos Butler had a few cricket purists in a spin this week after he worryingly predicted cricket may become a one-format game, with tests and ODIs petering out in the next 15-20 years. Butler said that in life, people generally want instant gratification and T20 can provide that for them – whereas the other two formats can’t.
The decline of test cricket has been well documented and as of late, the administrators at the ICC are currently exploring ways of recapturing the public’s interest and imagination again. The advent of day-night tests has been earmarked as a way of drawing the crowds back. There has been a lot of early conjecture about test cricket under lights and whether it has a sustainable future in the game is far from certain.
When the dusk session begins in a day-night test, most of those in the stadium filter out of the ground and onto the streets of their respective hometowns, leaving the fielders’ shouts of excitement echoing around an empty ground. Butler may have a point if this is how the brainchild of test survival is being received. As for the validity of the England wicketkeeper’s comments, whilst confessing his undying love for test cricket and fear for the game’s future, he inadvertently points out why the purist version of cricket is in dire straits.
Jos Buttler
Butler said missing out on Ashes selection for England was a big wake up call for him as it illustrated how far he had fallen down the pecking order in red-ball cricket. As for the way back into the national test fold for the 27-year-old, Butler had this to say: “I thought if I’m serious about playing red-ball cricket I could give up the white-ball stuff for two years and spend winters playing red-ball.” Crucially Butler added to that by saying: “But I feel like there are too many opportunities to go down that route.”
For the sake of clarity, one look at the financial opportunities and the entire situation becomes a lot more transparent. Test cricket cannot match the financial reward of T20s and therefore, the incentive to play it is no longer there for some of the game’s most exciting players.
Butler has been part of a very dominant English ODI team that has been exceptionally impressive of late; so much so that in the latest cricket tips they are only behind favourites Australia for World Cup glory in 2019, but his comments suggest he won’t make the effort to play in the Ashes directly after the World Cup ends.
Careers in sport are fleeting and the decision to make the most of all the financial opportunities available is one that has to be respected. It is only logical for an international cricketer to go where the money is.
If the administrators are indeed serious about keeping ODIs and, more importantly, test cricket alive then the onus is on them to provide an adequate reward for the players. The enthusiasm of the players needs recapturing just a much as that of the crowds.