Captains celebrate Test cricket revival as Ashes kick off in Brisbane
With the Ashes Test on the go at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday, England captain Andrew Strauss and Australia captain Ricky Ponting put aside their differences to laud the renewed popularity of Test cricket.
The rekindling of the sport’s most cherished rivalry between Australia and England has assuaged fears that Test cricket was losing out in popularity to the Twenty20.
In the wake of a fixed-game scandal with the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team earlier this year, the Ashes Test in Brisbane was the equivalent of a godsend for the sport.
Ponting has acquiesced that the 2005 Ashes Test, where England beat Australia 2-1, winning the urn for the first time in 18 years, increased viewership for the test and improved ratings, “I feel it [the Ashes] has grown the last few series in particular,” he
told the press. "Although we didn’t like losing in 2005, I think it had a regeneration of Test cricket around the world.”
Ponting called the Test a long-awaited opportunity for Australia to prove its mettle against England, in what has arguably become the single most popular event in Cricket.
“From that moment on every series we have played has just grown and grown to the point where, for God knows how long, we’ve been talking about this series in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.”
Strauss said that it's hard for people to get excited about a series where the same team always wins. “The last few series have been very closely fought and that's a great thing for the game.
“There's a lot of TV coverage here, a lot of people have spent a lot of money coming here to support us and we thrive on the idea we can pull off something really special.”
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