Australia Losing Could Save Test Cricket

[Mister Wright]

I think what people have been craving in test cricket for a very long time has been a level playing field where all countries have a chance coming into each test series. I think people have become disenchanted with how uncompetitive test cricket has become especially when playing against Australia. Of course, Australia has lost the odd series, but there's only two that come to mind in recent history and both of those were away.

I think the attraction to 20/20 has been (even if it is misguided) the though that both teams have a chance of winning and the game will be competitive and exciting.

I think if Australia does come back to the fold, particularly away from home, and even if they can be stretched at home it will rejuvenate the interest in the longest form of the game if countries are continually being challenged and not one country is dominating all the time.

Of course Australia will always do well against the minnows, Bangladesh, New Zealand and West Indies , but I think they will now be tested more often than not when they go out on to the field.

 

[tooextracool]

Will be interested in seeing how they go against a middle of the road side. They have recently beaten WI, arguably the easiest challenge in world cricket today and lost to India in India which is arguably the toughest challenge going around (both results were more or less predicted), but to really see how good they are at the moment we need to see how they go against a side like South Africa at home IMO.

 

[Goughy]

Id disagree with the statement in the title.

If other teams had improved and matched Australia then it would have been great for Test cricket.

However, Australia being beaten and coming back to the pack is due to them getting much worse not the other teams catching them up.

We now have the situation without any really good team in World cricket. That is a little sad.

 

[Jono]

To be fair, this loss is probably more-so the peak of a reduced Australian dominance after a while.

2-1 vs. India in Australia, and without getting into the controversy of Sydney, they only dominated one test for the series.

They were fairly comfortable vs. West Indies, but for a little while it looked like they'd lose a test, and WI managed to draw one.

 

[Ikki]

Nah, I like Australia being dominant - world feels normal that way. Hopefully Symonds comes back, we get Krezja filling in well and we're building another dynasty. Australia has too much talent/resources to drift back for too long.

 

[duffer]

South Africa quite a bit more than a middle of the road team.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Love how every time Australia loses a series these threads pop up from Aussies.

Justifying it to yourself eh Wright.

 

[tooextracool]

Id disagree with the statement in the title.

If other teams had improved and matched Australia then it would have been great for Test cricket.

However, Australia being beaten and coming back to the pack is due to them getting much worse not the other teams catching them up.

We now have the situation without any really good team in World cricket. That is a little sad.

Its highly unlikely that multiple teams would be able to match the kind of standard that Australia have been performing this decade at the same time. It would be great for cricket if that happened of course, but its highly unlikely that such a situation will happen because you dont get teams that have all time greats from head to toe very often.

 

[social]

Id disagree with the statement in the title.

If other teams had improved and matched Australia then it would have been great for Test cricket.

However, Australia being beaten and coming back to the pack is due to them getting much worse not the other teams catching them up.

We now have the situation without any really good team in World cricket. That is a little sad.

Dominant teams only come along every now and again

Unless Australia suddenly dredge up a spinner, we're now in for a reasonably extended period where a number of teams are capable of competing with each other and IMO that's not a bad thing even if it does mean that some of the cricket isnt of the highest quality

 

[Matt79]

Not in the style that this series was played. Overly negative attritional cricket has never produced popularity for the sport, and there was too much of it on both sides in this series. In some ways, both captains were hostages of the pitch, but if this is what test cricket is going to look like regularly, it will be dead within 5 years. There were some great individual performances, and periods of interesting cricket, but both teams were too ready to just try and bore batsmen out rather than attack the wicket and try to bowl quality deliveries.

One of the least enjoyable series in a fair while I'd suggest, apart from those with a partisan interest in whichever team had the ascendancy at the time. (and this isn't sour grapes, I have no problem with being beaten by a better team, which India was in this series).

 

[Precambrian]

Agree, it is good that India take the mantle now from the Aussies. Change was inevitable.

 

[tooextracool]

South Africa quite a bit more than a middle of the road team.

prossibly, but Australia facing them at home would have to be nowhere near as daunting as facing them in SA. At least the result of that series is nowhere near as easily predictable as the result of this past series.

 

[silentstriker]

Agree, it is good that India take the mantle now from the Aussies. Change was inevitable.

I don't think that is clear. They are simply one of 2-3 sides that are jockying for a chance. I am not willing to say that India are better than Australia. India have to win more series overseas for that (And Australia would have to lose).

 

[Ikki]

Agree, it is good that India take the mantle now from the Aussies. Change was inevitable.

 

[Johnners]

Agree, it is good that India take the mantle now from the Aussies. Change was inevitable.

Lets see them win away, consistently, before that happens.

 

[tooextracool]

India are coming off the back of a lot of changes, with Ganguly and Kumble now gone and the retirement of Dravid looming its difficult to judge how well their replacements will do. India definetly has the most potential for being the next Australia, but that is not something new for them.

 

[duffer]

Not in the style that this series was played. Overly negative attritional cricket has never produced popularity for the sport, and there was too much of it on both sides in this series.

Just wait for the Saffies. Save the match first and then see if you can win is their baseline tactic.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Touchy Touchy guys, obvious troll is obvious.

 

[Mister Wright]

Love how every time Australia loses a series these threads pop up from Aussies.

Justifying it to yourself eh Wright.

Not really. I've only ever really watched cricket for the contest aspect of it, when test cricket is truly competitive it is by far the most interesting sport to watch. Have kind of lost my desire to watch many games involving Australia as more often than not the result is determined before the coin toss. I love when Australia go behind in a series as it gets me actually cheering for Australia again rather than the contest, which I guess is why I was so intrigued in the most recent series.

 

[Goughy]

Dominant teams only come along every now and again

I dont want dominant teams. I want parity based on other teams raising their games rather than the premier team becoming worse.