Matt79
Global Moderator
One thing I've noticed as a fairly consistent thread through the posts of lots of the more regular posters in this forum is the premise that the standard of test cricket is not as good as it used to be, say 10-20 years ago.
I'm painting with a broad brush here, but lots of people seem to base a lot of arguments about lots of different issues with statements like "with the decline in the standard of batting", "given the lesser quality of bowlers these days", "he wouldn't have done so well in the 1980s" etc, etc. I guess one issue that consistently produces this line of argument has been the extended dominance of Australia, and the success of some players in the last few years.
I'm not saying that this view is necessarily wrong, but I guess I'd be interested to hear peoples' RATIONAL explanations as to why the standard of play around the world should have suffered a prolonged decline. BTW answers with more detailed rationales than: Akram > Akhtar, or Gower > Vaughan would be appreciated
I just wonder whether we're accepting this view a little too unquestioningly. I have an alternative argument, but I'd like to see what people think before putting it forward.
I'm painting with a broad brush here, but lots of people seem to base a lot of arguments about lots of different issues with statements like "with the decline in the standard of batting", "given the lesser quality of bowlers these days", "he wouldn't have done so well in the 1980s" etc, etc. I guess one issue that consistently produces this line of argument has been the extended dominance of Australia, and the success of some players in the last few years.
I'm not saying that this view is necessarily wrong, but I guess I'd be interested to hear peoples' RATIONAL explanations as to why the standard of play around the world should have suffered a prolonged decline. BTW answers with more detailed rationales than: Akram > Akhtar, or Gower > Vaughan would be appreciated
I just wonder whether we're accepting this view a little too unquestioningly. I have an alternative argument, but I'd like to see what people think before putting it forward.