Michael Vaughan comes up with five massive suggestions to save Test cricket

Former England National Cricket Team skipper Michael Vaughan came up with the five massive suggestions to save Test cricket. According to him, the International Cricket Council should adopt the suggestion provided by him as he feels that there should be a separate window for the same.

The growing advent of the T20 leagues has put on a massive scanner over the future of Test cricket. The lovers of cricket prefer watching the T20 cricket more rather than the longest format of the game which is more time consuming and spans for five days.

The recent Test between England and Sri Lanka at the Lord's Cricket Ground saw empty seats and not many people turned up for the game. On the other hand, during the Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh, almost the entire Rawalpindi stadium was empty.

Some of the experts in the game have raised their concerns over the future of Test cricket and one among them has been Michael Vaughan. The former England star has been very vocal about the same and has often raised his voice over saving Test cricket.

Writing in his column for the Telegraph, Michael Vaughan pointed out empty seats during the Lord’s Test and stated that it should be a wake-up call for Test lovers. He also admitted that crowds are comparatively less for the games with weaker teams rather than matches against India and Australia. He stated:

"Administrators have been slow to pick up on that this summer. We saw thousands of empty seats at Lord’s last Sunday. MCC have recognised that they got that very wrong, and failed to read the room on what the right price would be for a game against Sri Lanka in September. The Oval is unlikely to be much better on day four, and their job is even harder as it’s a Friday start in school term time with the weather getting worse.

"I hope this summer is a bit of a wake-up call for all lovers of Test cricket in England. I hope we keep talking about these issues. But, let’s be honest, we’ve been here before. We’ve had poor crowds towards the end of games against weaker opponents, and we’ve bemoaned the situation. But then the following summer, India and Australia are in town, and the grounds are packed with tickets going for top dollar. And we move on."

Michael Vaughan comes up with five massive suggestions to save Test cricket

With the popularity of Test cricket going down, Michael Vaughan came up with five points that could help Test cricket's survival. The first suggestion that the former English player made was that Test cricket should have two divisions of six teams each.

Vaughan stressed that teams should be categorized into two divisions based on the pedigree and after analyzing the performances, the side in the second division should be given promotions. He said:

"The first thing I would do is look at two divisions of six for Test cricket. Right now, there are too many mismatched games between teams that have wildly different resources, pathways and preparation. The best Test match in these parts this summer was Ireland against Zimbabwe in Northern Ireland because they were two well-matched teams and it was competitive,"

"It would not be ideal for teams in the second division, but I would have promotion and relegation every two years, at the same time you crown a Test champion. That would provide incentives to play, as would the proposed ICC fund to help raise match fees."

Michael Vaughan also suggested that ICC should share the funds equally for Test cricket. According to him, this will help the development of players worldwide. He added:

"If ICC funds were shared more equally, pathways could be put in place for the development of top-class players. At the minute, England has great pathways, and so do India and Australia. The likes of Sri Lanka and West Indies are relying on raw talent, which they still have plenty of, but that can only get you so far.”

Vaughan also wants a separate three-month window for Test cricket. He stressed that during that period all the teams should play each other. He elaborated:

"I would book three one-month windows into the schedule, where there’s no franchise cricket, so Test cricket is the only show in town. Hopefully, that would persuade a few players to keep playing Test cricket rather than just sticking to franchise stuff year-round. In those windows, I’d have all the teams playing at the same time. Possibly, towards the end of a cycle, that could mean everyone playing concurrently in the same country, or on the same continent.”

Michael Vaughan also wants to have four-day Tests with 96 overs per day. He also stated that if bad light spots play, then a pink ball should be used. He added:

"There are smaller changes I’d make. I wouldn’t be afraid to use four-day Tests where required, with 96 overs per day. And if teams are struggling to bowl their overs, fine them with runs, and make them stay out there until it’s done,"

"If bad light kicks in, change to a pink ball. We see the red ball changed regularly now, so why not change to a pink ball of similar age? It seems to me that the game is far too keen to stop playing and that all decisions are made with players in mind, not the paying spectator.”

The last point that Michael Vaughan suggested was that he wants to end bilateral white-ball cricket and stated that only World Cups should be played. He elaborated:

"I’d look at phasing out bilateral white-ball cricket outside of World Cups and the period just before. Every country wants a top-class franchise competition as a cash cow, but I don’t see how this can co-exist with a healthy bilateral schedule. Just look at the fact that England now play white-ball games deep into September," he concluded.