Ian Botham wants full Test series for big teams – Cricket News Update
Former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625) to arrange full Test series for the ace cricketing nations instead of merely two-match short events, claiming that the 5-day format is the mainstay
of the game.
Botham has turned down the perception that the longer version is diminishing with the arrival and popularity of T20I cricket. He opines that the limited-over matches are no more than fun and time pass while the real essence of the game lies in 4-inning fixtures.
Talking to the media today, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ian-Terence-Botham-c63998 said, “There must be a better balance and the big clashes in world cricket should have full Tests series and not the two-Test series we see that is happening far too often. There is also too much T20 cricket being played.
T20 cricket is not really the way cricket should be played. It is just entertainment, a fun thing and the icing on the cake for cricket.”
Botham , who played 102 Tests and 116 ODIs in his career, is of the view that 20-over cricket does not let pacers to flex their muscles and tune up their bodies, as a result, they suffer from fitness problems very soon.
He told, “The bowlers of today have not got the balance right on how they prepare to play international cricket. I have said it for years, that there is too much gym and not enough net practice.”
Botham is confident that Test cricket will survive and thrive the way it has been doing since centuries. However, he wants the ICC and other cricket governing bodies to bring the number of Test fixtures at par with the other two international formats.
The Test versus T20 debate has become a burning question of this era. With the thumping success and popularity of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Champions League T20, some analysts have started predicting a bleak future for Test cricket, and the emerging
players are also showing more interest in the limited-over games. On the other hand, the retired cricketers, who did not even touch the 20-over form, are fighting hard for the preservation and uplift of the oldest edition of the game.
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