Dear Editor,
There is not much needed to be done to get the fans racing back to the grounds to watch the game. Over the years, the ICC have laid the foundations. They have achieved what has not been done in any other sport. They created three formats-Tests, one-dayers, and the three (3) hour variety that could satisfy different tastes and the same tastes at different times. They, however, created the impression that the formats were qualitatively different and because the leaders of the game appeared to support this hierarchical approach, it has persisted.
Enough attention has not been paid to the obvious truth that many of the best players like all formats and tend to excel in all. It is incumbent on the directors of the ICC to market and govern the game as if it was one package. Cricketers who attract fans to the games in massive numbers and earn high incomes should not be made to feel unworthy, and the fans of the shortest format should not be treated as if they are lacking in discernment. There are a few other adjustments that can be made, especially to the tests, like I have suggested before, like shortening the number of overs before the ball can be changed and an improvement in the use of the DRS. The important thing to bear in mind, though, is that at this juncture the game is at risk, and the key to saving it is the integration of the three formats. Even the head of Microsoft suggested as much.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt