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‘If You Want To Know How Good You Are, Play Tests’: AUS Legend’s Message To Young Cricketers
According to Waugh, those who want to truly test their cricketing ability should play Test cricket, while those looking to secure their financial future can turn to T20 cricket.
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Former Australia captain Steve Waugh is one of the greatest Test batters of all time. He played 168 Tests for the Baggy Greens between 1985 and 2004, scoring 10,927 runs. Waugh, who finished his Test career as the second-highest run-scorer in the format at the time, believes modern-day batters have lost the art of playing Test cricket.
According to Waugh, batters need to spend long periods at the crease and be willing to grind out runs to succeed in the traditional five-day format. However, he feels that modern batters no longer possess the patience required to do so.
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Waugh believes one of the major reasons behind the struggles of batters in Test cricket is the rise of T20 cricket, where players are expected to attack and score boundaries regularly.
“The art of getting through tough situations and working hard to get ugly runs – I think that doesn’t happen very often anymore,” Waugh told The Telegraph. “Obviously T20’s all about hitting fours and sixes.
“Test cricket, sometimes you’ve got to just dig in and be prepared to play three or four maidens and look ugly to get runs. So that goes against the grain, and maybe that’s something that has been lost a bit, and you need to learn how to do that again,” he added.
Waugh is concerned about the health of Test cricket but refuses to blame batters for choosing lucrative T20 opportunities. However, he does have a message for young players. According to the former Australia captain, those who want to truly test their cricketing ability should play Test cricket, while those looking to secure their financial future can turn to T20 cricket.
“Everybody’s got to be aware and concerned. T20 is where the money is, and players make a living. For them, it’s not a hard choice: make a lot of money in a short period of time, or be prepared to expose yourself in Test cricket and not make as much money.
“If you want to find out how good you are at cricket, play Test cricket. If you want to look after your family and make a lot of money, play T20. So I don’t blame anyone for any decision they make, but we’ve got to ensure that Test-match cricket is still played.”
Waugh, who led Australia to the 1999 ODI World Cup title, is not angry with players for choosing T20 leagues over Test cricket. Instead, he believes administrators are not doing enough to safeguard the future of the longest format.
The former Australia captain has previously suggested introducing a universal pay structure for all Test cricketers, irrespective of their nationality. He also wants administrators to create a dedicated window for Test cricket in the international calendar.
“If you want guys to play Test-match cricket, make it a universal pay packet. So a guy playing a Test in Sri Lanka or Bangladesh gets the same money as an Indian or Australian player playing a Test match.
“You’ve got to create windows for Test-match cricket – that’s not easy to do. That takes a bit of skill to manage,” he added.
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Ask News18Cricket administrators could protect Test matches by making first-class cricket more attractive to players, incentivising players to take up red-ball cricket, and potentially allowing IPL teams to own Test cricket teams. There is also a suggestion to create a separate pool of 25-30 players for Test cricket who do not play in the IPL.
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Original source: https://www.news18.com/cricket/
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