Steve Waugh did not mince his words while voicing his opinion after South Africa named a second-string squad for the Test matches in New Zealand.
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South Africa included seven uncapped cricketers – including captain Neil Brand – in their squad that will play two Test matches in New Zealand in February. This is largely because the Test series (February 4 to 17) overlaps with with SA20 (January 10 to February 10).
Former Australian captain Waugh had earlier expressed his concern over the same in an Instagram post, asking whether it was “a defining moment in the death of test cricket.”
“Surely the ICC along the cricket boards of India , England and Australia must step in to protect the purest form of the game,” Waugh had added. “A premium, equal match fee for all test players might be a good starting point History and tradition must count for something. If we stand by and allow profits to be the defining criteria the legacy of [Don] Bradman, [WG] Grace and [Garry] Sobers will be irrelevant.”
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In a subsequent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Waugh slammed the cricket administrators, who, according to him “obviously don’t care.”
He feared the impending lack of interest around major cricketing events, like the Boxing Day Test match: “It’s going to happen if the South African Cricket Board are any indication of the future, keeping their best players at home. If I was New Zealand I wouldn’t even play the series. I don’t know why they’re even playing. Why would you when it shows a lack of respect for New Zealand cricket?”
Waugh also mentioned Pakistan and the West Indies teams that are visiting Australia this summer. While Pakistan are without Haris Rauf, the West Indies squad includes seven uncapped cricketers.
“It’s pretty obvious what the problem is. The West Indies aren’t sending their full-strength side. They haven’t picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now. Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn’t play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now. Even Pakistan didn’t send a full side.
“If the ICC or someone doesn’t step in shortly then Test cricket doesn’t become Test cricket because you’re not testing yourself against the best players.
“I understand why players don’t come. They’re not getting paid properly. I don’t understand why ICC or the top countries who are making a lot of money don’t just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium, so people are incentivised to play Test cricket.
“Otherwise they just play T10 or T20. The public are the ones who are going to suffers because it’s not the full side playing, so it’s not Test cricket.
