Is Test cricket really dying? Nasser Hussain makes stunning claims after England demolish West Indies

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has time and again spoken about the state of Test cricket overall. He has touched upon the subject again after England beat West Indies in the first Test.

England won the first test by an innings and 114 runs inside three days. West Indies were dismissed for 121 and 136 in response to England's score of 371 in the first innings.

The Windies batters did not show any kind of resistance in front of Gus Atkinson and co. at Lord's. The first Test was the final Test match for James Anderson and he finished his career with 704 wickets. He took 3 in the Windies' second innings.

Speaking at the Sky Sports Podcast, Nasser Hussain lamented the state of Test cricket in the West Indies. He said that West Indies currently have inexperienced and undercooked Test cricketers who cannot play the format properly. While England had some red-ball preparation in the form of County Championship games, West Indies played just one three-day red-ball game against First-Class Counties XI in preparation ahead of the series.

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“Those two days summed up for me where we are with Test cricket. You talk about all the batting they could have but they’re off in a white-ball sunset, you’ve got bowlers who haven’t bowled, you’ve got undercooked cricketers, and then you lose the toss and have the worst of conditions, and everyone goes ‘Test cricket is dying’,” said Hussain on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

“But if you prepare for a Test match like that, you’ll get exactly what England get when they go away. It frustrates me because you’ve got to give Test matches the preparation that they deserve, which is a very easy thing to say but a very difficult thing to do in modern times,” he added.

There are doubts whether West Indies will be able to compete against England at home in the second Test at Trent Bridge starting from July 18. Windies head coach Andre Coly wants the side to take inspiration from their win against Australia earlier this year at the Gabba.

West Indies Are in Terminal Decline: Nasser Hussain

He further spoke about the sad state of affairs in West Indies Test cricket. They have hardly put an experienced side as almost all of their modern players are white-ball specialists.

“The other story is ‘the West Indies are in terminal decline’ — England haven’t won in the Caribbean for two decades and (the West Indies) hold the Richard-Botham Trophy,” Hussain said.

Hussain further spoke about England's struggles when they play Test cricket overseas, especially in countries like India and Australia. England does not hold the Ashes urn currently and they lost the series to India as well earlier this year in India.

“England travel to India or Australia and don’t particularly do well, so it shouldn’t just be a West Indies story. All it does is add to the fact that Test-match cricket is in a difficult place, and it is sort of self-perpetuating.”

England playing at home now have a chance to move up the WTC 2023-25 points table having taken a 1-0 lead in the series.

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