Waugh: The public has almost overdosed on cricket

Australia Cricket

Waugh: The public has almost overdosed on cricket

Online Desk

28 Nov 22 17:50:50

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Australia's Will Pucovski fields during the fifth day of the third cricket Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney on January 11, 2021, AFP

Steve Waugh believes that the cricket-watching public, at least in Australia, has "almost overdosed" on the game and that interest levels are dwindling.

"There's a lot of cricket, it's hard to follow as a spectator, it's very hard to keep up with it. The three one-dayers against England [earlier this month, which Australia won 3-0] seemed pretty insignificant, really. I mean, what were they playing for? There wasn't big crowds, I think the public has almost overdosed on cricket" Waugh said on SEN's Saturday Morning Mowers Club show.

Australia is in for a rough few months. They are preparing for a two-Test series against the West Indies at home, which will be followed by three home Tests against South Africa in December and January.

After a brief break, they travel to India for four Tests and three ODIs in February-March, followed by three ODIs against Afghanistan in March. There are a number of T20 leagues running during this time, including Australia's own BBL, and the IPL, which will feature many Australian players, will begin in late March.

They then have the Ashes series in England, and possibly the World Test Championship final before that, followed by limited-overs assignments in South Africa and India before the 50-over World Cup in India in October. The cricket doesn't stop after that either, with fixtures against India and Pakistan before the end of the year.

"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" he added.