Question of the Day: Is Cricket Australia selling out Tests to sell out BBL games?

Cricket is in trouble.  Always has been, always will be. 

Cricketing fans, of which I am one, love the game & consider any variation to it as offensive as a threat to a family member, or often worse (depending on the family member).

The summer hasn’t even started in Australia yet and already there is outrage and dismay at the state of the game at home and abroad.

The second Test in Perth was a dead rubber, reflecting the state of a pitch that used to have more bounce than a kangaroo on a trampoline*.  

Seeing the sad state of WACA ground was particularly hard on the cricket fan, this ground of fearsome heat, bounce and afternoon breezes. Many of the commentators lamented its demise, but given that even the sight-screen wasn’t working, perhaps its time to put the old girl down.

At least this guy was brilliant:

In Brisbane, no-one showed up to the game as a result of excuses such as; poor promotion, dogs eating it, lack of interest, the price of tickets and people having to work (splitters!).

Some commentators noted that the Test still got a lot of TV viewers, but how long will that continue for if the standard is this bad?

The next Test, in Adelaide, will be played using a pink ball; allowing the game to be played at night & thus allow the after-work crowd to attend more easily.  Cricket Australia (CA) seems to have given up on giving punters a reason to go to the game (e.g. promotion) apart from expecting them to have nothing else on.

To be fair, it is in Adelaide, so that’s a natural assumption.

Overseas, the state of the once magnificent West Indies cricket continues to find new and exciting ways to knife itself to death in the slowest way possible.

After suspending their Coach for questioning why he couldn’t pick certain players, then re-instating him while telling everyone there is “nothing to see here”, they are now fighting with the regional governments for control of the game.

Meanwhile, the West Indies will be arriving in Australia for a Three Test series soon, with most of their best players (Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard) all unavailable due to playing in T20 club games, including CA’s Big Bash League.

Now, I’m not going to be the one to suggest that CA is deliberately killing Test Cricket so as to make more money out of the BBL….no, I think I am.