Thaindian News

London, Mar.25 (ANI): The increasing popularity of the slam bang T20 cricket could ’sound the death knell for Test cricket’, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) chief Keith Bradshaw has warned.

In his article for the April edition of the Wisden Cricket magazine, Bradshaw said the danger of Test cricket being rendered redundant looms large as many players have bid adieu to the longer version of the game to prolong their career in the latest and more lucrative edition.

“I consider myself optimistic, but it isn’t difficult to look ahead and see the pessimists’ apocalyptic version of the future of the game - where Tests are virtually redundant, Twenty20 saturates and players are globe-trotting mercenaries,” Bradshaw said.

“We know several players have already forgone playing Tests to prolong more lucrative Twenty20 careers,” he added.

Bradshaw said the Twenty20 cricket would leave future generations of cricketers ill-equipped to handle the pressure and demands of longer formats such as first-class and Test match cricket.

“I believe the more covert long-term problem will be that young players will be schooled purely in the Twenty20 game and be unable to adapt to the demands of cricket played over three, four and five days,” he said.

Bradshaw, however, expressed the hope that despite it threatening the conventional form of game, T20 cricket could prove beneficial for the expansion of cricket in countries which have until now been left untouched.

“Twenty20 could sound the death knell for Test cricket but it could also prove to be the perfect vehicle for the expansion of the game into other countries. The shorter the game, the greater the leveller, and Twenty20 is an excellent pathway into the elite fold,” he said. (ANI)