http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Dravid-c2229 wants preservation of Test cricket - Cricket News Update
Steps like the Test Championship and day-night Test matches are necessary if the world cricket managers want to preserve and perk up the longer format, suggests the legendary Indian batsman, Rahul Dravid.
The Wall, reknowned for his capability to build up strong innings, opines that International Cricket Council (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625) should bring Test fixtures at par with ODI matches and make the 5-day format interesting to garner fan following.
One of the oldest Test playing cricketers of the world aired these views during a lecture at the eve of Sir Donald Oration 2011 at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
Referring to his own experience playing pink ball Test matches, he said, “In March of last year I played a day-night first-class game in Abu Dhabi for the MCC - and my experience from that was that day-night Tests is an idea seriously worth exploring. The
visibility and durability of the pink cricket ball was not an issue.”
He further told, “Similarly, a Test championship with every team and player driving themselves to be winners of a sought after title seems like it would have a context to every game. Every Test playing country (should) get its fair share of Tests and playing
for a championship or a cup not just a ranking."
Turning down some cricket analysts’ calls to scrap the 50-over format, Dravid asserted that this format had been at peak in terms of quality and viewership since its very inception.
The legend also expressed grave concerns over the dwindling Test following, avowing that it would be hard to sell TV rights and get sponsorships for the longer version if the trend continues.
Dravid, in an appealing tone, called for restricting T20 cricket to the domestic arena so it does not hamper the progress of the oldest version of the game.
The 38-year-old, who has 160 Test and 344 ODI matches to his credit, is in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 as a precious batting asset of his team which is set to play a 4-Test series, starting from December 26.
Tags: