Don't devalue Test Cricket

The same message has come in different forms from Ricky Ponting and the ICC's chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle over the last 24 hours (check out the photo of Madugalle on Cricinfo - slightly out of date I think!). Madugalle was perhaps thinking of some of the play in the Old Trafford England v West Indies Test when he said, "We should concentrate on improving the quality of cricket rather than the quantity of cricket. We must also ensure that Test cricket which is your icon product should not be compromised in terms of standards." You can read the article in full here.

Meanwhile Ricky Ponting has been telling an Indian audience that spin bowling could die as an art within 10 years if the amount of ODIs around the world does not reduce. I haven't heard Ponting being self-depricating before (or any other Australian!!), but he was perhaps playing to his audience when he told them that playing Harbajan in 2001 was like batting blind-folded!

It's amazing that with so many voices speaking out about the scheduling of extra ODIs by some international boards, that they still ignore all that goes on around them and try to line their pockets even further.