He admitted the priority that people give to Test cricket has certainly waned.
Test cricket is the original format of the game, but these days, with the advent of shorter formats of the game, the five-day format has been constantly losing its fans and interest among the fans for the recent years and many often say 'Test cricket is dying'.
Reacting to the people’s thought that the 'Test cricket is dying', West Indies cricket legend Michael Holding has on Friday (July 2) admitted that the traditional format of the game is no longer at the top of the cricket fans’ list, but it is still alive.
Holding said on Times of India's new sports podcast 'Sportscast': “When people say 'Test cricket is dying', you first have to understand what they are referring to. And in what context they are saying 'Test cricket is dying'. If you look at it, in the context of people attending tests and interest in Test cricket, I don't think you could disagree with anyone that the interest and attendance at Test cricket have gone down tremendously. It is no longer at the top of people's lists.”
Some of the Test cricket that has been on offer in recent times has been of high quality. India's recent tour of Australia for example produced some incredible cricket, with India emerging as the series winners, despite multiple injuries and setbacks, and was voted as the greatest ever Test series by ESPNCricinfo.
He added, “When you think of the standard of cricket being played and how entertaining it is, there's absolutely no way you can say that Test cricket is dying, because the standard of cricket that you're watching, and the entertainment value from Test cricket...as far as I'm concerned it is alive and well.”
Holding concluded, “When you watch two Test teams taking part in a Test match, I don't think there could be anything better. The ebbs and flows throughout the five days, if it lasts that long, I think is fantastic. But you cannot argue with anyone who says that the interest in it, and the attendance and the priority that people give to Test cricket has certainly waned.”
(With TOI inputs)