by Mark Spriggs

Created on: August 27, 2009   Last Updated: August 29, 2009

Test cricket is relevant, to consider otherwise is to diminish cricket as a whole. 20twenty cricket is fun, exciting and dramatic and give opportunity for surprise, new tactics, risks and shock results but comparing the two forms of this great game is the equivalent of discussing the relative merits of Rugby Union and Rugby League and their wider relevance.

It is noticeable that following this summers Ashes series here in the UK, gates were high, live audiences were high (2 million on Sky) and the audience share for the channel 5 highlights show had a share of 10% for its time slot, and this doesn't include the institution that is Test Match Special with it range of interviews with Russell Crowe, Lily Allen, Daniel Radcliffe and Stephen Fry to add to the colour at lunch.

No one can argue that Test matches at their worst are dull affairs, but this does not have anything to do with the length of time a match takes, nor does it relate to some over used racial stereotyping about colonial ease taking in the sun from some distant past class system. Test matches can be dull because of the pitch, the tactics, the weather or the matching/mismatching of the teams a la the final days of Zimbabwe's previous Test status or Bangladesh's developing nature against the likes of Australia or South Africa.

However at their best they are as dynamic, as dramatic and as spell binding as the very elite 20Twenty game and in this they are better value for money - and it is this that needs to be emphasised to allow Tests to retain there necessary preeminence over its miniature sibling.

The issues that Test cricket as a spectacle faces are small but significant; over rates, bad light interruptions, teams playing for a draw rather than a positive outcome and appropriate stadia all go into making the event more attractive for live audiences and add to the likelihood of results.

What needs to make the game more relevant is more competition and international development. A restructuring of the global game to include opportunity for 'minnows' to win status as Test nations, international leagues whereby the strongest play each other home and away in a 12 month cycle with the lowest team being relegated Davis cup style to play in the next league trying to regain its place. What would make this especially challenging is the range of venues each nation would face, the home and away context and only allowing 5 nations in each division. Can you imagine the impact of that on positive competition a current elite would include South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Australia and England, while a second tier would include Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh with another nation being given the opportunity to compete at this level. It would be intrinsic to this format that a third tier would need to be included and that could include nations such as Kenya, Netherlands, Ireland, Argentina and even the likes of the US. It is this international competition that forces change on attitudes, on the administration of the game and of the perception of the audience and this will be how Test cricket becomes more relevant.

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