‘Token series’: Shane Watson slams Cricket Australia’s scheduling for declining interest in the sport
Shane Watson has taken aim at Cricket Australia’s scheduling, blaming it for declining interest in the sport.
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Australian cricket great Shane Watson has slammed Cricket Australia’s scheduling, blaming it for declining interest in Australian cricket.
Speaking at a flood relief clinic in Murwillumbah on the North Coast, the 41-year-old decried the recent one-day international series against England as a “token series”.
As he was speaking on Tuesday, Australia had just compiled a record 5-355 in Melbourne with a 269-run opening stand between Travis Head and David Warner, for it to be seen by only a supposed 4524 fans.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground has a capacity of 100,024.
Incredulous at what would turn out to be the smallest crowd figure for an ODI ever held at the MCG, the two-time World Cup winner described scheduling “games that have got a bit of context to them” as the “biggest challenge in cricket”.
Watson said fans “see through” the constant diet of cricket without context, and respond accordingly.
“Series like (the England series) are only added into the schedule to be able to tick a box,” he said.
“World cricket needs to not just play token series for the sake of it,”
“That’s why one-day World Cups, Champions Trophies, and T20 World Cups are always the most exciting, because there’s always something riding on each game”.
“The last thing you want is (only) 4000 people turning up to watch world-class players play.”
Australia’s win in Melbourne secured the series 3-0, starting only four days after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup.
Newly anointed captain Pat Cummins rested himself after the first match, and England put up a third-string side without superstars Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes (who remains retired from ODI cricket).
England captain Jos Buttler, speaking after the match, echoed Watson’s sentiments, saying he was “not fussed at all” about the series thrashing, which did not count towards the ODI Super League.
He said administrators needed to “find a way to keep (cricket) all relevant”.
“I think this series is a good example of how probably not to do it,” he said.
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