More Mohalis will keep Test cricket alive, says Viv Richards

NEW DELHI - Cricket legend Viv Richards feels that Test matches like the one between India and Australia at Mohali will keep alive interest in the oldest form of the game.

The former West Indies captain, here as a brand ambassador for the 25-member Antigua and Barbuda contingent at the Commonwealth Games, believes that world cricket needs more such rivalries to keep Test cricket alive.

In a nail-biting finish India won the Mohali Test by one wicket.

Though Richards didn’t watch the full match, he said he was happy to see the way the two teams performed.

“It was a very good match. I didnt get to watch the full match, but I feel we need more such matches to keep Test cricket going. Such matches will help pull crowds to cricket stadiums and I firmly believe that Test matches are not dead, Richards told IANS in an interview at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here Wednesday.

Richards, who will be here till the Games are over Oct 14, admitted that Twenty20 is giving a tough competition to Test cricket and said the shortest format of the game is the best way to make the sport global.

We have to move ahead. We have to preserve the sanctity of Test cricket, but Twenty20 is the way forward, said the Antiguan, who was well known for his scintillating batting.

Richards said if cricket has to be an Olympic sport then it has to be played on the Twenty20 format. Cricket was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February.

“For all practical purposes, we cant be playing 50-over cricket in Olympics or at any other multi-discipline mega event. Twenty20 is the only format that can be included in the Games. In fact that’s how rugby became a part of the Commonwealth Games. Rugby7 is short and quick and thats how it became popular, he said.

Fifty-over cricket was part of the Commonwealth Games in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, where South Africa won the gold medal. That was also the first time Antigua and Barbuda participated at a senior level.