Australia's World Cup-winning captain Steve Waugh has blasted on Cricket South Africa (CSA) for their second-string squad announcement for the New Zealand tour. With SA20 clashing with the two-match Test series, South Africa recently named a new-look squad with seven uncapped players in the mix. To add on, an uncapped player Neil Brand will be leading the Proteas challenge on the New Zealand tour.
Waugh has slammed the CSA and raised a worry about whether this sign is a defining moment in the death of Test cricket. He also asked ICC, BCCI, England Cricket Board and Cricket Australia to intervene. "Obviously, they don't care. It's going to happen if the South African cricket board are any indication of the future, keeping their best players at home," Waugh told the Sydney Morning Hearld.
"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?" he added.
He took to Instagram to question whether this was the defining moment in the death of Test cricket and asked the top boards to intervene. Is this a defining moment in the death of Test cricket? Surely the ICC along (with) the cricket boards of India, England and Australia must step in to protect the purest form of the game.
"History and tradition must count for something. If we stand by and allow profits to be the defining criteria, the legacy of (Sir Don) Bradman, (WG) Grace and (Sir Garfield) Sobers will be irrelevant," he wrote.
He then questioned whether the ICC and the boards pay money to the players to play Test cricket. 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," Waugh added.
Waugh also highlighted that West Indies are not sending their full-strength team to Australia with Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder missing. He also stated that Pakistan are also not at full strength in the Test series against Australia.
