In Australian cricket, this is formally ‘Warner week’ as the seasoned opener gets ready for his final, 112th Test match. During the pre-match press conference, Pat Cummins, the Australian captain, spoke nostalgically about Warner’s daring debut in the Test scene in 2011. Warner was known for his ability to score runs quickly and turn games around in a single session—a skill that not many openers had at the time of Warner’s debut in 2011.
Twelve years later, a broader story about the format’s health surrounds Warner’s imminent departure. South Africa’s announcement last week of seven uncapped players, including team captain Neil Brand, for their Test tour of New Zealand, stoked the fires of this controversy. The remaining Proteas Test regulars will play in the second season of the SA20 at home, which is a clear indication of how the sport is moving in favor of shorter, more profitable forms.
Although the two Test matches against Pakistan this summer drew large crowds, Cummins acknowledged feeling concerned at times about the future of the format. It’s a challenging one. On the eve of the New Year’s Test in Sydney, he observed, “Every summer feels bigger than the last here in Australia, but obviously going overseas, that’s not the case.”
“In some regards, I am a little bit worried at times, but at the same time T20 cricket has never had more supporters and I don’t think there have been more supporters in the world watching cricket. As a Test cricket lover, I wish everybody was watching Test cricket, but I’ve never seen cricket stronger than what it is at the moment.
“My hopes are that it’s [Test cricket] even stronger than it is now, in 10 years time or 20 years time. I grew up absolutely loving Test cricket. I think it does go through phases. I know the South African team aren’t sending their strongest side. I’m hoping it’s a phase. I think in some regards leading to this Test summer, some of some of the question marks were against Pakistan and West Indies.
“We’ve had two fantastic Test matches against Pakistan, really well supported, big crowds. So I don’t think it’s in as dramatic decline as sometimes it gets spoken about. But I think there is an issue just with the amount of other cricket out there, obviously competition for talent is higher than it’s ever been.”
The captain of Australia admitted that some of the context-related concerns around Test matches have been resolved by the World Test Championship. In the past, the Sydney Test would have been doomed to failure because to Australia having already won the series with victories in Perth and Melbourne. However, this week, both teams will compete for an equal number of WTC points.
“With the World Test Championship currently taking place. Each and every Test match matters. We need to make up a few points due to certain overrates in England. Every game has a significance and is a home Test match. You play big Test matches but the ones in Australia are larger even.
“Ideally, we figure out a way to make it work with fifteen or twenty powerful Test-playing nations.” I am aware that there are many obstacles to overcome, so I consider myself quite fortunate that in Australia, playing is valued highly and consistently encouraged. It would be wonderful if there was a silver bullet, but I’m not sure what it is.
Returning our focus to “Warner week,” Cummins acknowledged that, with Warner gone, a realistic and gradual changing of the guard was inevitable; however, this changeover would probably happen more quickly for Australia’s ODI team, which just won its sixth World Cup.
“As he stated several times last week, I believe Marnus to be the sole person in his 20s right now. We probably expected it would come a little sooner, but everyone is hanging on, so realistically, there will be some rate of change over the next few years, Cummins said.
“We don’t play again until the summer of the following year after this run of Test matches. That being said, I don’t see anything changing very soon. The young players in Australia A have had some fantastic opportunities, including various ODI tours where some of the first XI players have taken time off. In the upcoming years, there will undoubtedly be a more significant transition, and we will undoubtedly be prepared for it.
“Since this Test team has been reliable, just three or four players—sorry, this XI—have appeared on the field in the last few years. In many ways, the transition to the white-ball format is easier than in one-day cricket as one-day cricket is somewhat different and you get to play top-notch matches in front of audiences in events like the Big Bash.”