Australian great Steve Waugh has savaged South Africa for its farcical squad announcement for an upcoming tour of New Zealand.
The South Africans named a 14-man squad which included seven uncapped players, most notably their new captain, opener Neil Brand.
The national team – which just beat India in a home Test – was ravaged by a ruling from Cricket South Africa which determined no players contracted to SA20 franchises were eligible for selection. Thus from the side which just beat India, only Keegan Petersen and David Bedingham remain.
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It is a remarkable indication of South Africa’s priorities given they currently lead the 2023-25 World Test Championship standings (with one win from one Test).
The decision saw Waugh declare to the Nine papers: “Obviously they don’t care”.
It follows the comment he posted on Instagram: “Is this a defining moment in the death of Test cricket?
“History and tradition must count for something. If we stand by and allow profits to be the defining criteria the legacy of Bradman, Grace and Sobers will be irrelevant.”
Neither Pakistan nor the West Indies sent a full-strength side to Australia for this summer’s Test matches and Waugh fears the trend will continue, even from major nations, if changes are not made to the global cricket system.
“It’s going to happen if the South African Cricket Board are any indication of the future, keeping their best players at home,” he said.
“If I was New Zealand I wouldn’t even play the series. I don’t know why they’re even playing. Why would you when it shows a lack of respect for New Zealand cricket?
“It’s pretty obvious what the problem is. The West Indies aren’t sending their full-strength side (to Australia). They haven’t picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.
“Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn’t play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now. Even Pakistan didn’t send a full side.
“If the ICC or someone doesn’t step in shortly then Test cricket doesn’t become Test cricket because you’re not testing yourself against the best players.
“I understand why players don’t come. They’re not getting paid properly. I don’t understand why ICC or the top countries who are making a lot of money don’t just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium, so people are incentivised to play Test Cricket.
“Otherwise they just play T10 or T20. The public are the ones who are going to suffers because it’s not the full side playing, so it’s not Test cricket.”
The enormous money involved in the IPL, and the power of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, are proving too much for many players to ignore.
It was estimated an IPL match is worth $21.7 million due to the enormous TV and digital rights deal in the subcontinent, ahead of the English Premier League at around $17 million.
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