Former England batter David Lloyd has expressed his fears for the future of Test cricket, claiming that the crammed schedule of the cricketing calendar could push out the longest format of the game.
Former Sky Sports commentator Lloyd, who played nine Tests for England from 1974 to 75, was speaking to the Daily Mail when he argued that the schedule could dramatically alter the five-day game.
“I worry for the first time about the future of Test match cricket. Why? Because I can’t see room for it given this saturated scheduling,” the Lancastrian said.
“Where will they put it? There’s no room for Test cricket as we know it, and my guess is that in future we will only see the iconic series: like the Ashes, England vs West Indies and England vs India.”
The Women’s Ashes has been a multi-format series since 2013, and Lloyd can see men’s Test cricket following a similar model in the near future.
“My theory is that Test cricket will become a bit like women’s international cricket where teams play series against each other in multi-formats – so many T20 internationals, a number of ODIs followed by a one-off Test at the end,” he said.
“You can’t get away from the fact that in some parts of the world they are watching white-ball cricket over Test cricket. Also, consider what the broadcasters are paying for. They want to show grounds with bums on seats and so they’re going to push that way too. The change is going to happen quickly. I envisage it being within the next 10 years.”
