Desert Vipers Coach Tom Moody spoke clearly about the decline of Test Cricket in the past few years.
Tom Moody on decline of Test cricket
After the South Africa cricket board announced a depleted squad for the Test series against New Zealand earlier this month, former cricketers and enthusiasts slammed the board for naming a senior squad for the New Zealand tour.
The board’s decision to make all SA20 players available for the domestic franchise league, even if to miss the Test series has raised various concerns about the potential dangers for the Test format.
However, the SA20 offers higher financial benefits to the South African Board. On this occasion, Australian player Tom Moody who serves as the coach of Desert Vipers, gave a detailed explanation of the change in modern cricket.
“I think it’s clear that the appetite for T20 cricket… both the audience and the players are very much attracted to the shorter format of the game. And I think that’s a reflection of society. People don’t have the time they used to have many years ago,” says Moody.
“I still think there is a place for Test cricket. We’ve seen so many wonderful Test matches and series played out just over recent, recent months.”
“So, I believe there is a home for Test cricket, but I think there’s going to be a lot of playing nations that are going to find it a lot harder to sustain a full calendar of Test cricket, purely because the challenge of all the franchise cricket that’s going on around the world.”
“We’ve seen that happen over the last few years. There’s no question of that. Players get to a certain age in their career where they feel they would like to be available longer and get exposed to all the franchise opportunities out there.”
“At the end of the day, I think if you ask any young player breaking through any national setup, their prized possession would be to play Test cricket and be recognized as a player who had conquered Test cricket at the highest level,” says Moody.
The former Australia star comes from the period when T20 cricket was non-existent. But if he was from the Modern era, there remains a question of how he would maintain the balance.
“I’ve only been involved in roles off the field for many years. To me, I think it’s (T20) a great game, and it would have suited the way I played as well.”
“But (when it comes to) balancing it, I think my priority would have always been representing the country because there’s nothing like that and having success at the highest level there. But franchise cricket is a pretty privileged position for many players these days,” said Tom Moody.
He was the coach of the Vipers since the inaugural season last year, where the side lost the finals in the Gulf Giants.
“This is our second season, so it’s still very much in its infant stages. But I think it’s fair to say that the standard of this league is right up there. Obviously, IPL is the premium league, and it is very hard to match the quality and the standard that’s displayed there.”
“But, certainly, the ILT20 can be compared against any league in the world. You only have to look at the quality of the players that it attracts,” he concluded.
The first test match of the South Africa tour of New Zealand 2024 starts on February 04 at Bay Oval.
