‘They don’t care’: Waugh slams cricket bosses over South Africa Test farce

A furious Steve Waugh has accused the International Cricket Council and administrators from leading nations of ignoring the welfare of Test cricket after South Africa prioritised their Twenty20 competition over a tour of New Zealand.

“Obviously they don’t care,” Waugh told this masthead after South Africa named seven uncapped players in their 14-man squad to face the Black Caps in a two-Test series next month.

New captain Neil Brand is yet to play international cricket, while only two players from South Africa’s Test victory over India last week have been included.

Waugh fears that major events like the Boxing Day Test will be seriously impacted in coming years.

“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 Austalia this summer]. They haven’t picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.

South Africa celebrate victory over India in the first Test last week.Credit: Getty

“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 [to Australia].

“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 wealthy Board of Control for Cricket in India demands and receives an ever greater share of ICC revenue when most other countries run Test cricket at a loss.

India’s share of ICC television rights jumped from 22 per cent of about $3 billion in 2017 to 38 per cent of about $4.5 billion in 2023.

This is after US media giant Disney and India’s Reliance Industries paid the BCCI $8.6 billion for the television and digital rights to broadcast the IPL, making it one of the most lucrative sports leagues in the world in terms of cost per game.

An IPL match is billed in rights value at $21.7 million per game, ahead of the English Premier League’s $16.8 million per game, Indian media reported at the time. The combined value of the IPL rights was estimated to be almost double the 2018-22 deal.

Cricket South Africa has an agreement with the South African players’ union to allow its best players to play in India’s IPL, which has disrupted Test tours in the past. South Africa cancelled a one-day tour of Australia last year for the same reason.

Waugh originally raised his concerns on Instagram, posting the largely anonymous South African squad. Underneath, his message began: “Is this a defining moment in the death of Test cricket.”

He finished with: “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.”

David Warner claimed that it was up to governing bodies to make sure that the correct scheduling was in place. While he would not comment directly on South Africa’s squad Warner said on Monday: “That’s just showing where it [Test cricket] could be potentially heading.

“There’s going to be a lot of conversations I think in the next year most definitely about it, and I think for us we need to keep Test cricket alive. It’s the pinnacle of the game. We absolutely love it and when you get that taste of it when you’re out there five days toiling. Hopefully, that can keep surviving.”

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