The lack of competitiveness of Test teams away from home

[GotSpin]

They did head to Dubai where they could control their preparation (which they haven't been able to do as well as they'd like in previous Indian series) for a few weeks before heading to India.

Yeah point being that a solid boot camp can be just as good preparation now.

We're not suddenly going to rewind the clock and play 20 first class matches during a tour.

 

[Spark]

Check out this tour to England in 1989.

That series is in stark contrast to modern series.

Australia in England : May/Sep 1989 (6 TESTS)
Australia in England May/Sep 1989 - Test Averages
Australia in England May/Sep 1989 - Tour Averages
Australians v Duchess of Norfolk's XI at 7 May 1989, 7 May 1989
Australians v League Cricket Conference XI at 5 May 1989, 5 May 1989
Australians v Minor Counties at 17 July 1989, 17 Jul 1989
Australians v Oxford and Cambridge Universities at Oxford, 28 Jun 1989
Australians v Oxford and Cambridge Universities at Oxford, 28 Jun 1989
Australians v Scotland at 15 July 1989, 15 Jul 1989
Sussex v Australians at Hove, 9 May 1989
Marylebone Cricket Club v Australians at Lord's, 11 May 1989
Worcestershire v Australians at Worcester, 13-14 May 1989
Somerset v Australians at Taunton, 17-19 May 1989
Middlesex v Australians at Lord's, 20-22 May 1989
Yorkshire v Australians at Leeds, 23 May 1989
1st ODI: England v Australia at Manchester, 25 May 1989
2nd ODI: England v Australia at Nottingham, 27 May 1989
3rd ODI: England v Australia at Lord's, 29 May 1989
Warwickshire v Australians at Birmingham, 31 May-2 Jun 1989
Derbyshire v Australians at Derby, 3-5 Jun 1989
1st TEST: England v Australia at Leeds, 8-13 Jun 1989
Lancashire v Australians at Manchester, 14-16 Jun 1989
Northamptonshire v Australians at Northampton, 17-19 Jun 1989
2nd TEST: England v Australia at Lord's, 22-27 Jun 1989
Glamorgan v Australians at Neath, 1-3 Jul 1989
3rd TEST: England v Australia at Birmingham, 6-11 Jul 1989
Hampshire v Australians at Southampton, 19-21 Jul 1989
Gloucestershire v Australians at Bristol, 22-23 Jul 1989
4th TEST: England v Australia at Manchester, 27 Jul-1 Aug 1989
Nottinghamshire v Australians at Nottingham, 2-4 Aug 1989
Leicestershire v Australians at Leicester, 5-7 Aug 1989
5th TEST: England v Australia at Nottingham, 10-14 Aug 1989
Kent v Australians at Canterbury, 16-18 Aug 1989
Essex v Australians at Chelmsford, 19-21 Aug 1989
6th TEST: England v Australia at Kennington Oval, 24-29 Aug 1989
Australians v The Netherlands at The Hague, 2 Sep 1989
Australians v The Netherlands at The Hague, 3 Sep 1989
Australians v Denmark at Bronsby Stadium, 5 Sep 1989
Australians v Denmark at Slagelse Stadium, 6 Sep 1989


No wonder teams had a much better chance back then.

An interesting observation is that the ODI series was played before the tests. This is something that should be done now, as it at least gives the players more time to get used to foreign conditions. It may not benefit a whole test team as only perhaps half crossover, but at least half get more time to acclimatise better.

I also think ODIs before the series makes for a really good appetiser sometimes. I remember really enjoying the 2005 tri-series before the Ashes for exactly taht reason.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I also think ODIs before the series makes for a really good appetiser sometimes. I remember really enjoying the 2005 tri-series before the Ashes for exactly taht reason.

This is so true. It helps people actually care about them. Having the ODIs after the Tests just seems like an afterthought and no one really cares.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Yes, I agree. I'd actually watch the one-dayers for a change! I'd be watching the test players to see their form and similar stuff.

 

[Victor Ian]

Yep, really agree with that. The series should work towards purity and increase in challenge. T20 to ODI to Tests. That is they way you might actually convert these new fans people love talking about. As it is, they only start watching after the stuff you'd love them to come to is already over.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Yeah point being that a solid boot camp can be just as good preparation now.

We're not suddenly going to rewind the clock and play 20 first class matches during a tour.

But it showed that, even without FC games, it was a very organised and in depth preparation for the tour, where they could control the circumstances in which they could prepare. A bit different to what we've seen in other tours.

 

[S.Kennedy]

There is a middle ground here one feels.

 

[GotSpin]

But it showed that, even without FC games, it was a very organised and in depth preparation for the tour, where they could control the circumstances in which they could prepare. A bit different to what we've seen in other tours.

I don't think I articulated my point very well. I was trying to suggest a well organised boot camp can make up for the lack of FC games

 

[Gob]

I also think ODIs before the series makes for a really good appetiser sometimes. I remember really enjoying the 2005 tri-series before the Ashes for exactly taht reason.

This is so true. It helps people actually care about them. Having the ODIs after the Tests just seems like an afterthought and no one really cares.

Yeah but the risk of injuries to big players

 

[Victor Ian]

better we find out they cant handle 1 day before getting them to try for 5.

 

[Victor Ian]

I read somewhere that that UAE bootcamp had grounds of all types so you could practice for wherever you were going. Did I read right that they even had English like pitches? Those boot camps could be a real thing, but they still take time and not everyone has weeks to spare before a tour with the crammed schedule of everything.

 

[Daemon]

One problem of having ODIs and T20s before the start of the Tests is that teams usually have some sort of focused preparation for tests right before a tour, and once you play the ODIs your preparation is likely to be disrupted. Imagine if Australia did all the hard work in UAE then rocked up to India and played their trademark 350 v 350 type ODI series. In 2 weeks they'd forget everything they learnt.

Wonder what it's like in reality for the players though. I imagine some would be quite comfortable switching from format to format.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Yeah that's why its a thing of the past now. Most tours are going to be split between Tests and LOs. Good decision IMO

 

[Furball]

I also think ODIs before the series makes for a really good appetiser sometimes. I remember really enjoying the 2005 tri-series before the Ashes for exactly taht reason.

Oddly enough everyone always forgets there was a 3 match bilateral series between England and Australia after the tri series.

 

[Furball]

I'm not sure that there's necessarily a trend of teams doing worse away from home either. Ignoring South Africa, Australia have lost 1 home series in a quarter of a century, India lose **** all at home, South Africa routinely smash visiting sides not named Australia or England. Reckon series these days seem more one sided because you get less draws, back in the good old days you might lose a 4 or 5 Test away series 1 or 2-0, now with all the Tests seeing results you get 3 and 4-0 defeats.

To add to this, I think things feel worse now because we're coming off a 10-15 year period where we had:

An ATG Australian side that smashed everyone, everywhere.
A great South African side that didn't lose an away series for 10 years.
Possibly England's greatest ever modern day side which between the 2009 and 2013 Ashes won in Australia and India and drew in South Africa
India's best ever side which was competitive in Australia (drew in 03/04 and lost 2-1 in 07/08), won a series in England and drew in South Africa.

All of the above sides would hammer their present day counter parts.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Oddly enough everyone always forgets there was a 3 match bilateral series between England and Australia after the tri series.

I'll never forget it. One of the 3 games was on the day of the 2005 tube bombings and I was stuck in a hotel room because London was in lockdown.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Ashes: Is cricket the hardest sport to win away from home? - BBC Sport

 

[Daemon]

Had no idea they had bounce/swing/seam stats. That's great data. Wonder what else they have that isn't public.

 

[hazsa19]

Ed Smith is bang on the money in that article. Despite what they say about win/loss stats not changing much lately, Test Cricket is more predicatable now than at any other time I’ve been watching. Admittedly that’s only really been since the late 90s.

And it’s not just sour grapes regarding England. I love watching Broad humiliate the crims at TB as much as the next English cricket fan, or as much as an Aussies loves watching Smith pile on the runs at Brisbane. But such one sided affairs aren’t gonna win new fans, they won’t convince those who prefer LO stuff that this is the height of the game.

Can’t see it changing anytime soon either. Think it’s more to do with a lack of quality than anything else. Think Aus have the best chance of bucking this trend over the coming years, especially in the 2019 Ashes. Smith, Hazlewood and Cummins vs a declining Jimmy Broad and Cook might just be enough.