Ali Bacher urges ICC to expand Proteas’ Test cricket schedule
Former South Africa captain Ali Bacher urged the ICC to expand the Proteas’ Test cricket schedule following their World Test Championship victory, highlighting the need for more matches to balance the dominance of England, Australia, and India in international cricket. Picture: Sapa/IOL
Image: Sapa/IOL
Following the Proteas victory in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, former South Africa captain Ali Bacher has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to see the Rainbow Nation play more matches in the longest format of the game.
In the two-year cycle which ended with South Africa qualifying for the final, the Proteas played the joint fewest number of games in the qualifying period.
South Africa played just 12 matches, while the big three nations in world cricket - Australia (19), India (19) and England (22) - had a much more full calendar.
It’s for that reason that the victory of South Africa over Australia in the final could do much to sway the ICC to schedule more matches for the Proteas.
Ali Bacher: International Cricket dominated by England, Australia and India
"If you look at the international cricket calendar out now, it is dominated by England, Australia, and India playing each other for a five-Test series, and South Africa is in the second league,” Bacher told SportsBoom.com.
“We don't have any international Tests this summer at home. You have to spread the game and not confine it to two or three big countries.”
The fact that this current Proteas team was able to win a major trophy without a team loaded with superstars like previous SA sides, was another reason to be especially proud, believed the 83-year-old Bacher.
“We have been trying for decades to win a major international tournament with great players such as AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, and Makhaya Ntini [to name a few].
“We were loaded with world-class players, yet we never won a top trophy [after the Champions Trophy in 1998]. You cannot compare this team to the players I mentioned, but there is a special bond of friendship and camaraderie, similar to a top international cricket team.”