A test for spectators

From Ashok Sridharan, India
With the second Test between India and Australia running to half empty stands, I find that the talk of loss of the primacy of Test cricket and the dominance of T20 cricket is once again all over the press. While limited overs cricket has long been a lot more popular than Test cricket in the Subcontinent, that does not mean Test cricket is losing its popularity or charm. Those who cry from the rooftops about the declining appeal of Test cricket ignore the simple fact that limited overs cricket draws in several 'casual' viewers with little knowledge or understanding of the game. Take them out and you still have millions who watch Test matches transfixed to their television screens.

As for dwindling number of spectators, let those in the media crying out loud about it experience a single day of Test cricket in an Indian ground with poor sanitary arrangements, dismal seating and lack of proper drinking water (and you're seldom allowed to take in water with you by the way). Add to that cricket being played in the smaller centres with even fewer facilities and you have the perfect recipe for keeping people away from the ground - a fact I.S. Bindra has thankfully acknowledged. Spending three hours in such dismal conditions to watch a T20 game is a lot less demanding, isn't it?