Cricket board's expect the best available players to step out on the park for every match they have scheduled but that isn't going to be possible going forward.
While the board and TV companies might hold endless conversations on the subjects of exposure, brand value and broadcast deals but they aren’t the ones who have to do the playing.
Even the fittest and finest player cannot play non-stop and continually shift between formats.
This was noted by Ben Stokes when he retired from ODI cricket earlier in July.
“I just feel like there is too much cricket rammed in for people to play all three formats now,” Stokes said, before falling for just five in a 62-run defeat to the Proteas.
“It is a lot harder than it used to be. The more cricket that is played the better for the sport, but you want a product that is of the highest quality.
“It isn’t just me or us. You see it all around the world now where teams are having to rest some players in a certain series so they feel like they are getting a break. We are not cars where you can fill us up with petrol and let us go. It has an effect on you, the playing, the travel, it does add up.”
Thank you, Ben Stokes 🙌 pic.twitter.com/DSwx4Kfx5w
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 19, 2022
In the team environment, the focus is on getting the best out of players not making the most money possible for your board.
Naturally, cricket is a professional sport and the boards do need to make money in order to function but as Stokes mentioned there is a breaking point for players.
The reality is that something has to give in international cricket and since it seems unlikely that anyone will agree to scale back the amount of matches played, so the expectations that stars will come out for every series in every format will need to be adjusted.
Players will opt to take a pathway that is best for them and if that means going the ‘AB de Villiers’ road of picking and choosing which matches and formats they want to play.
It might even get to the point where players will need to be contracted per series and matches will be promoted accordingly.
If cricket doesn’t try to address the issue, it will force its own solution but the problem isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
