Kemar Roach: The next generations love of Test cricket is already gone
Tue, Sep 19, '23
West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has expressed his concern over the future of Test cricket in an exclusive interview with the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.
Roach, who has played Test cricket for West Indies since 2009, also called for the ICC to intervene to safeguard the future of Test cricket.
The Test game is increasingly dominated by the sport’s ‘Big Three’ of India, Australia and England as poorer boards have seen their Test fixture card shrink while also facing an increasingly difficult battle to prevent from losing their most gifted players to financially more rewarding T20 leagues around the globe.
West Indies, for example, have seen their average number of Tests each year drop from 12 – as it was in the first six years of the 21st century – to just an average of 7.2 over the past six years.
Roach, who sits fifth on West Indies’ all-time Test wicket-takers list, believes that the ICC needs to act in order to preserve the Test game for more than just the game’s most financially secure nations. “Of course, of course, they should be [doing more],” said Roach.
“They’re the governing board of cricket. A lot of people, a lot of articles are out that a lot of players [feel this way]. Ricky Ponting says he’s concerned about Test cricket and he’s one of the legends of the game. There are a lot of concerning factors that should be taken seriously. But it’s a governing body. They’re in charge of what happens next. We can talk as much as we want, but if they don’t want to do anything about it, then that’s where we are.”
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