SA, WI scapegoats in ‘death’ of Tests?

Going by the collective outcry of the cricket fraternity around the world, led by former Australia captain Steve Waugh, it seems that the people running the game in South Africa have just landed the final blow in the gruesome murder of Test cricket.

“Is this a defining moment in the death of Test cricket,” Waugh asked in the caption of an Instagram post where he shared the picture containing the list of players the Proteas have selected for their forthcoming two-Test series in New Zealand in February.

To be fair to Waugh, his shock was somewhat justified as half of that 14-man squad are uncapped, including Neil Brand, the captain for the series.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) had to name an understrength side as 77 of its players are under contract in their franchise Twenty20 league, SA20, which began its second season on Wednesday and will run till February 10.

While many have joined Waugh in shaming the South African board, the people involved with the country’s cricket, interestingly, have supported the decision to prioritise SA20.

“Everybody understands the SA20 has to happen … because it is the lifeblood of South African cricket. If it doesn’t happen, we are not going to have Test cricket anyway,” said South Africa’s Test team coach Shukri Conrad.

This support comes out of the collective realisation that CSA is fighting for survival.

The South African board reported a loss of almost USD 6.4 million last year, which was actually an improvement from the near USD 10.65 million loss in 2022.

To save themselves from impending doom, South Africa placed all eggs in one basket, the SA20, with hopes that the league — where all six teams are owned by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises — would bring in the funds they desperately need.

This is why South Africa allotted a big window for SA20. Ironically, Graeme Smith, under whom the Proteas went undefeated in away Test series for nine years, is now the chairman of the league that is pushing Tests way down the pecking order in the country’s cricket.

While admonishing South Africa, Waugh also urged ICC and other top cricket boards to allot an equal match fee for all Test players to preserve the “purest form” of the sport.

But his calls are almost certain to fall on deaf ears.

After failing to get the much-debated ‘Big Three’ model passed in 2017, the Indian board in June last year has successfully established what some are calling the ‘Big One’ model.

India, the financial powerhouse of world cricket, is set to bag 38.5 percent of the ICC revenues in the 2024-27 cycle, more than eight times of what South Africa will receive.

This disparity gets reflected in the remuneration the contracted players of the top teams receive compared to other nations.

Had the big three teams not bumped up the pay for their top Test cricketers, they would have also lost their best players to leagues, something the recently retired David Warner and his opening partner Usman Khawaja openly admitted.

Amid the uproar around the South African team, West Indies named a squad for a Test series in Australia with seven uncapped players.

This, however, did not make as big a splash as the cricketing world has grown used to seeing West Indies sending understrength teams while their best players are plying their trade in other leagues.

The only way South Africa can avoid suffering the same fate as West Indies is to offer their players bigger pay cheques. To do that, they must improve their financial state, which they are hoping to achieve through SA20.

South Africa and West Indies neither have the intention of killing Test cricket nor the ability.

The blade that has left Test cricket bleeding has the fingerprints of other countries.