"Made It Worse" - Mark Butcher Tears Into ICC, Blames WTC For Decline Of Test Cricket

Former England cricketer Mark Butcher believes that the World Test Championship has resulted in the decline in the popularity of Test cricket.

While New Zealand and Australia are the winners of the inaugural two editions of the World Test Championship, India have qualified for the final of the biggest Test event on both occasions. The WTC was introduced to increase the popularity of Test cricket, wherein teams were allowed to wear Test jerseys with sponsors and numbers behind their backs.

While there has not been a big rise in the viewership of Test cricket in England, Australia, and other countries, India have been a place where fans mostly come out to watch white-ball games.

Speaking to Wisden, Mark Butcher stated that the World Test Championship has damaged Test cricket and is working on the decline of the red ball format. As per Butcher, he knows a lot of people who look at the WTC points table and say it is exciting, but according to him it is not, it is even more worse than before.

“The only effort that’s been made to try to keep it relevant, I think has made it worse!” ?@markbutcher72 believes the introduction of the World Test Championship has contributed to the decline of Test cricket.

Listen: https://t.co/TM5IR1qWlC
Watch: https://t.co/2rbV1ybjQ3 pic.twitter.com/x7njEOHdE1

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 6, 2024

Mark Butcher’s huge statement on the World Test Championship (WTC)

Mark Butcher said while speaking to Wisden, “One of the things that actually kind of, has made this even more inevitable is something they have done to try to salvage Test match cricket, which is the World Test Championship. I know a lot of people kind of think, they look at it, look at the table, and say isn’t it going to be exciting, all this kind of stuff. But it is not, The point is that your bilateral series have to capture the imagination of the fans and the players of the two countries playing in it and then the wider cricket-watching public.”

Mark Butcher believes that Test matches are already very competitive and are important events and the introduction of the ICC World Test Championship has done no good to the purest format of the game. He also believes that the introduction of the World Test Championship has made things worse for Test cricket.

“The only way to that they are that is if they are competitive and that’s how it always was. Test match series and Test matches in and of themselves, you know single games, were important events. The idea that you widen the whole thing out to span three years and blah blah blah and some series are worth this and some series are worth that, something can’t be arsed this week. It makes it even more nebulous. The only effort that has been made to kind to try and keep it relevant, I think has made it worse.”

Mark Butcher added that the concept of the World Test Championship is difficult to understand and fans only care about it in the last few months when the there is race between the teams for booking their spot in the WTC finals.

“Truing to make it matter in the grander context of the things, you have ended up with this ridiculous system that nobody understands and nobody really cares about until you kind to get down to may be the last two or three months when you can see who might make it to the final. Thats now way to compel an audience that this thing is worth watching.”

“In all of the wrong places that effort has been made, and the places where it might actually have made a difference i.e. levelling up revenues for TV rights, allowing countries to be able to keep hold of their best players, allowing them to be able to pay a universal standard of money for Test match appearances and whatever.”

“Then you allow the richer boards to pay their players whatever they want to on top. You know, this is just, it’s a surrender, It’s been a slow moving car crash up to now, and now its kind like a bang impact has been made.”

The next final of the World Test Championship will be played in June-July, 2025.