"Hope there are 20 Test teams in another 10 years" - Pat Cummins
Australian captain Pat Cummins has expressed his concerns with national teams prioritizing franchise cricket over the longest format. The 30-year-old underlined that Test cricket will survive only if more teams and the best players participate in the format in the near future.
Red-ball internationals face a testing time as South Africa are likely to send a second-string team to New Zealand in February due to a clash with the SA20 league. Cricket South Africa (CSA) are likely to ask several players to stay back, including nine players from the incumbent Test XI.
Speaking to AAP, Cummins illustrated how crowds in Australia clamor for Test cricket and wants more teams to play the format in the future.
"I don't know what to think, it's disappointing to hear. It's weird, because in Australia Tests are so strong. The crowds are great, millions of people watch each summer. It's really well supported. But it does feel like there's probably less countries than five or 10 years ago that are really putting all their resources into international cricket."
"I don't know the answer, but as a Test cricket lover, I hope there are 20 Test teams in another 10 years, not less."
Cricket Australia reportedly face a tough sell for the home summer, where they face Pakistan and West Indies. Unlike the West Indies, Pakistan could be a potential threat due to their gun bowling unit.
"If we are fully fit, we won't be resting" - Pat Cummins ahead of home Tests
Earlier, Cummins promised that Australia will field a full-strength bowling unit for the home Test season, with WTC points in stake. He said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"You are always dealing with something as a bowler. When your hamstring starts to feel then you feel a pain somewhere else, then you wake up the next day and it's moved somewhere else. While over the last couple of years, we might have been rested from the odd game, the bulk of work we've been able to do is because of those small gaps. If we are fully fit we won't be resting."
The first Test of the home season starts against Pakistan on December 14 in Perth.