An airplane with a banner asking for the sacking of the England and Wales Cricket Board flew over the stadium during the third day of the Headingley Test on Friday.
The ECB were faced with an embarrassing situation on day three of the third Test between England and India as a banner with a radical message flew over the Leeds stadium.
“Sack the ECB and Save Test Cricket” displayed the banner as the plane flew over the packed Headingley cricket stadium during the 25th over of India’s second innings.
The ECB has been under fire for a while because of the introduction of The Hundred – the newest 100-ball format. The board had to disrupt the domestic schedule to find a sufficient window to stage the new league. The County Championship, Royal London One-Day Cup and T20 Blast have all been affected one way or the other.
Test cricket purists have been all over social media, ridiculing the board for destroying the game in England. Flying a message on the plane seems to be an idea of one such deeply traumatised purist.
A few former cricketers have already raised their concerns over the ECB’s stance of prioritising white-ball formats at the expense of first-class cricket.
There seems to be a general belief that the reason England’s Test team is in shambles lies in the board’s preference for limited overs cricket. And while England’s Test struggles have existed for the last half a decade, the purists are leaving no opportunity to blame it on The Hundred.
While the Test cricket fans are upset with the tournament, thousands of children and young people have thoroughly enjoyed the newest glamorous format.
The league has given women’s cricket a massive boost, not just the United Kingdom, and has broken attendance records. The Hundred was highly successful and could bring a cultural shift in cricket viewing in the country.
However, the ECB does need to work on the scheduling of domestic cricket and give the best chance for all the formats to coexist. The first-class cricket, in particular, needs a revamp if they want international quality players coming out of the County Championship.
