Well we’ve had quite an eventful few weeks in the cricketing world, haven’t we? You’ll have read about England’s gripping World Cup final win over and over again so I shan’t go into it here apart from to briefly remind myself of what an incredible spectacle it was and a super showcase for the game.
And then we had the one-off test against Ireland, our only real preparation for the Ashes series that starts this week. Again, there’ll be lots written previewing the series and although I usually take the lazy way out by profiling key players before the start of a series, the Ireland match gave me more to think about than just how England can solve their top order shakiness and whether they should be fast-tracking Jofra Archer into whites.
Last week’s test match was scheduled to last just four days instead of five (never mind that we only made it to three days!). I’ve never been keen on the idea of reducing tests to four days, mostly because I love the drama you get when a match goes into the fifth day. For pure tension it’s bound to be better than a match which has already run its course. I don’t know what’s leading the ICC to keep thinking about them: is it about squeezing more cricket in, and if so would we be looking at back to back four-day matches? Is it more about saving operating costs for grounds and administrators by condensing everything down? Providing better value for money (or an excuse to raise ticket prices) for spectators?
This week I have come up with a new plan that could make four-day tests a more palatable offering, in my view. What if all test matches were scheduled as four day matches with a mandatory fifth day in reserve for making up any lost overs? You could schedule all matches to commence on a Thursday, giving you your two corporate hospitality days followed by two weekend days for the humbler paying spectator. Monday’s play should only kick in when a minimum of 20, or perhaps 30, overs has been lost due to poor weather or slow over rates, with tickets only available on the gate (at the usual £10 for adults and under 16s free rate). That means no pesky refunds to deal with and a much more positive experience all round. Queuing for tickets on day five is always exciting as you join the throngs sharing the same anticipation and childlike spontaneity of getting yourself to the game to watch its conclusion.
I can’t imagine Sky complaining too much: they already have to get their reserve schedule in place for when matches finish early and it would actually save them money if they don’t always need to be on duty for day five.
The benefits of this system would be myriad: longer days for those paying full price for Thursday-Sunday tickets; much less play lost to rain and/or bad light; a greater incentive to teams to bowl their overs at the required rate (or come back another day to get through them); more of those exciting days that come from a spontaneous trip to the cricket; more chance of a results in matches that are weather-affected; opportunities to welcome newer audiences to the game through cheap and free fifth day tickets. In fact, what about a contractual agreement that on any fifth day that finishes before the lunch interval, the players are committed to meet and greets with spectators on the outfield or in the nets? It is this kind of access and engagement that is going to grow the support base of the game.
The more I think about it, the more I think it could be the best way forward for the future of the long-form game.
Tractor