Butcher, speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, voiced his concerns about the impact of the WTC on Test cricket.
‘WTC has made it worse’
He believes that the bilateral series need to capture the imagination of fans and players to maintain competitiveness and interest, which the World Test Championship has not achieved effectively.
“The point is that your bilateral series have to capture the imagination of the fans and the players of the two countries that are playing in it, and then the wider cricket watching public. And the only way they are that is if they are competitive. And that’s how it always was,” Butcher expressed.
“The only effort that’s been made to kind of try and keep it relevant, I think, has made it worse,” Butcher added.
Waugh criticized ICC and major boards
Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh also joined the criticism of the ICC and major cricket boards, including the BCCI, following Cricket South Africa’s decision to name a squad with seven uncapped players for the Test series against New Zealand.
The clash between the WTC and other domestic T20 leagues has led to top cricketers prioritizing the latter, impacting the strength of Test teams.
How to salvage Test cricket
- Butcher suggested that the ICC should have focused on addressing issues such as leveling up revenues for TV rights and providing financial support to boards to retain their best players.
- He believes that the effort to salvage Test cricket by introducing the WTC has made the situation even more challenging and nebulous.
‘Leveling up revenues’
“I don’t know, in all of the wrong places the effort has been made. And the places where it might actually have made a difference, i.e., leveling up revenues for TV rights, allowing countries to be able to keep hold of their best players… Allowing them to be able to pay a universal standard of money for Test match appearances and whatever and then allow the richer boards to pay their players whatever they want to on top of that – I have no issue with any of that stuff.
“But this is just a surrender, if you ask me. It’s been a slow-moving car crash up to now and now it’s kind of like, bang – impact has been made,” Butcher concluded.
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(With inputs from PTI)