Ian Botham unhappy with poor shape of Test cricket
Former England all-rounder Ian Botham feels T20 cricket is just icing on the cake for cricket while Tests remain the pinnacle of the game © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
Sydney: Dec 10, 2011
Former England all-rounder Sir Ian Botham is unhappy with the poor condition in which Test cricket and feels there are few pressing issues that need to be addressed to revive the traditional format of the game.
Botham was quoted in Sydney Morning Herald as saying, “There must be a better balance and the big clashes in world cricket should have full Tests series and not the two-Test series we see that is happening far too often.
"There is also too much T20 cricket being played. All the best players come from Test cricket and T20 cricket is not really the way cricket should be played. It is just entertainment, a fun thing and the icing on the cake for cricket."
Botham feels the poor fitness of current fast bowlers can be attributed to the incorrect match preparations.
He said, “The bowlers of today have not got the balance right on how they prepare to play international cricket. I have said it for years, that there is too much gym and not enough net practice.
“Bowlers need to bowl lots of overs in the nets. Look at Dennis Lillee. Sure he did lots of gym, but worked twice as hard in the nets."
The former England captain also felt it augurs well for ICC to clean up mess like Pakistan spot-fixing to save international cricket’s image.
He said, "Pakistan needs to sort out its backyard ASAP. If it can't do that, then they should be suspended from playing international cricket until they do. Regarding the three players who got jail sentences, I believe they got off lightly."
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