‘Primacy’ my ass: The ICC’s semantic coup

By Adam Wakefield

The old adage states “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. David Morgan, the ICC president, recently said that Test cricket could or would undergo serious changes by the time the clock strikes 12 and 2010 becomes 2011. This statement emerged from the background of what has now become a cliché in cricket circles: “preserving the primacy of Test cricket”. When these words were first uttered, it was in the context of keeping Test cricket as is, especially since memories of South Africa’s wonderful contest with Australia over six Tests at the end of last summer were fresh and vibrant.

It seems, however, that the games administrators have short memories, or perhaps an alternative agenda. Doesn’t it sound contradictory to first say that Test cricket should be preserved, then to change one’s tune and suggest that 4-day, day-night Tests are the way to go? The ICC appears to be spinning a web of deceit, because no one really knows what their intentions are. The ICC is starting to mimic the FIA and all their contorted statements meant to generate press (OK, it isn’t as bad, but as they say, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”).

Since many supporters question the ICC’s motives, perhaps we should investigate whether these suggested changes are actually what the game needs. Perhaps it is the fans who can’t see the real picture? Test cricket has been played over five days for over 100 years. Some of the game’s greatest moments have happened in the dusk of the fifth day, the tail end of a gruelling contest when the body is weak even though the mind is willing.

First-class cricket is played over four days, but it is the step up to five-day competition that truly separates the lamb from the bone. Test cricket is the ultimate test (hence its name) of a player’s skill and mental fortitude. If you can hack it in Test cricket, you have proven your worth as a cricketer. The game itself is entrenched in world cricket culture. Most fans (ones that are over the age of 20) were raised on the game, with ODIs as a sweetener after the Test series had concluded. Since then, the game has changed dramatically with Twenty20 being the new sensation, though that feeling isn’t going to last for long at the current rate.

So why the sudden change of heart? Is Test cricket unhealthy around the world? The Ashes is beginning soon, and South Africa’s contest with England last year was a riveting affair. They will be touring SA this year, always a fun tour with the Barmy Army being a great bunch of cricket lovers. Sri Lanka, Pakistan (when playing away) and India always generates buzz considering the complex relationship between these different cricket powers. Australia, very much the team to beat even two years ago, always generates excitement considering they are still one of the best sides going around. The West Indies, though a problem child, is a great place for teams to tour. Bangladesh is still finding its feet (another cliché) and New Zealand has always produced a fighting team (and Bond is back).

What reducing Tests to four days and making them day-night affairs will do is free up more space on the calendar. Who gets those extra days is easy to guess: Twenty20. The ICC appears content to gorge itself on Twenty20 till they overdose, irrespective of other cricket formats. It’s a slippery slope if there ever was one.

Cricket’s supporters (and this isn’t a slight against other sports, just an observation) have the intellect to appreciate where the game is in relation to macro-economics. The ICC seems to take cricket fans as a bunch of chumps. Cricket’s need to modernise is stripping the game of its soul. Would you want to go watch a Test match if it were a day-night affair? I wouldn’t because that isn’t what Test cricket is. If the game changed, they might as well call it “Super” cricket or some other name because calling it Test cricket would be an injustice.

The real problem lies in the currency of cost, because since TV became involved, events have only been going one way. They are the ones who pressure boards to produce a five-day pitch that guarantees a result. Ask any groundsman: that isn’t easy. It is TV money that is turning red-blooded administrators green. Players shouldn’t be blamed since all they can do is take advantage of what is put in front of him. The ICC is using the lexicon of “primacy” as a tool to quietly run a coup over the foundations of cricket’s most prized history. They are using the need to keep it “cool” to create more space for Twenty20 and to enrich the bottom line, not the game itself.

They seem to forget, however, that this whole argument and “mission” only came about when the ICC themselves were the ones who shifted attention away from Tests in favour of Twenty20. ODI, as we know it, is a dead-man walking. It is only a matter of time …

Perhaps all this is inevitable? Since the game went professional, and with its development accelerated by the IPL (an epoch shift if there ever was one) it has always been about the bottom line. Don’t let the ICC fool you into thinking they are doing this for the benefit of fans and players: they don’t give a damn about the little people because that would get in the way of making a quick buck.

The ICC in this piece might be judged unfairly, since this author admits his view is biased. But damn it, it just ain’t cricket, and the ICC is determined to make sure it becomes just that. They created the problem which suits their motives conveniently, though no one seems to acknowledge that. To take away Test cricket, the tea breaks, the sessions, the subtle changes in momentum, is to pull the carpet from under the game so that the fallen body becomes a smooth vessel for currency to run over it.

The ICC be damned. Maybe my views will change if the future becomes the present, but right now many supporters, including this one, know where they stand: if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.

Adam Wakefield has been a cricket enthusiast since Allan Donald attempted to kill Michael Atherton in Johannesburg in 1995/96. He studies journalism at Rhodes University and now works in Cape Town as a rugby journalist and organiser (cricket, however, is his first love). He played forth team cricket at varsity, with his controlled round-arm off spin and dexterous lower-order batting