Steve Waugh Criticizes ICC and CSA Over Test Cricket's Decline Amid T20 League Prioritization

Following the announcement of the South African board's T20 league over the longest format and the selection of a reduced Proteas red-ball squad for the New Zealand tour, former captain of Australia Steve Waugh has taken aim at the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket South Africa for their apparent lack of concern for Test cricket.

For the two-Test series against New Zealand that begins next month, the CSA has selected a second-string Test team that consists of seven uncapped players, including a new captain. The top South African cricket players are contracted to participate in the SA20, a T20 league that was started by CSA and Indian Premier League teams, in its second season, which happens to coincide with the tour.

A CSA ruling states that no player under contract with a SA20 franchise is qualified to be selected for the Tests.

They obviously don't give a damn. If the South African cricket board, which keeps its best players at home, is any guide to the future, it will happen, Waugh told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Not even if I were from New Zealand, would I play the series. I have no idea why they are even having a game. Given that it betrays a lack of regard for New Zealand cricket, why would you?

Waugh had originally expressed his concern on Instagram. Is this a turning point in Test cricket's demise? To preserve the purest form of the game, the ICC and the cricket boards of Australia, England, and India must undoubtedly intervene.

Tradition and history have to be taken into consideration. One of Australia's most successful captains, Waugh, wrote, "The legacy of (Sir Don) Bradman, (WG) Grace, and (Sir Garfield) Sobers will be irrelevant if we stand by and allow profits to be the defining criteria."

South Africa has a history of giving precedence to its domestic T20 league over international cricket. They forfeited an ODI series in Australia in 2022 in order to have their best players play in that league, which served as a direct-qualification route for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

Due to the fact that some of their regulars would have preferred to play in the IPL, South Africa fielded a weakened team for the two home Test matches against Bangladesh back in March 2022.

"You're not testing yourself against the best players, so Test cricket doesn't become Test cricket if the ICC or someone else doesn't intervene quickly. I can see why there are no players. Their compensation is inadequate.

But in order to encourage people to play Test cricket, I fail to see why the ICC or the wealthiest nations simply establish a standard fee for Test matches that is a premium.

Waugh worries that the trend will continue since neither Pakistan nor the West Indies are sending their full-strength squads to Australia for the Test matches.

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