Cricket

“Hard to follow”: Steve Waugh speaks out on state of international cricket

“The public has almost overdosed on the game of cricket.”

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Former Australian captain Steve Waugh made some stark comments on SEN regarding the changing landscape of modern-day cricket in Australia, outlining "the public has almost overdosed on the game of cricket."

The "insignificant" series England faced Australia in post their World Cup triumph is where the debate stemmed from with Waugh stating "there's a lot of cricket...it's very hard to keep up with it."

A red ball two match series commences the Australian summer on home soil, with the West Indies touring our shores, and from then on the calendar is filled with nonstop fixtures scheduled.

"You want the special series to be iconic, like the Ashes, and against India when they come out here," Waugh said.

"It's hard to follow the Australian side because every time they play they have a different team on the field. For the fans and spectators, it is hard to make a connection because you're not sure who is playing.

"I don't know if it's anyone's fault but you need that consistency in the Australian side. You want to know who's in the squad every game, you want to be following it closely and it's really hard to do that right now."

The issue has been lurking in the shadows for some time with more and more pop-up tournaments globally recognised with room struggling to be made for the growth of the game.

Constant changing of teams, coaches and playing environments Waugh admits is a concerning element Cricket in this country faces, which is partially to blame for the T20 World Cup disappointment.

"It's a bit unsettling, with different captains and different styles and, you obviously perform better under some and you think you've got better ideas than others and, yeah, it would be hard to be, I guess, the captain of the Australian side," he said.

"There was pretty much one captain [when he played], and you knew what the style was, and how you're going to play, and you knew the personalities. Yeah, they are all over the place and [it] probably is a bit unsettling."

 

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