The long-term viability of Test cricket is a regular talking point, with the rise of white-ball cricket and declining attendances and revenues globally all pointed to as contributing factors. Agnew has revealed that he fears the exit of the longest format of the game for good.Speaking to on <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2022/04/05/jonathan-agnew-exclusive-frustrates-bbc-loses-cricket-rights/">The Telegraph, he said, “If Test cricket were to disappear, and I fear one day it will go, it will never come back. What a shame that would be. I find myself having to defend it, point out when you get a really good Test match what a proper challenge it is. The whole thing is a shifting process which one day cricket isn’t.”Agnew’s prophecy comes hot on the heels of words of warning from David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, another prominent English commentator. “I worry for the first time about the future of Test match cricket. Why? Because I can’t see room for it given this saturated scheduling,” he told the Daily Mail. “Where will they put it? There’s no room for Test cricket as we know it, and my guess is that in future we will only see the iconic series: like the Ashes, England vs West Indies and England vs India.”From an English point of view, the introduction of The Hundred has further increased pressure on a cricketing calendar already under heavy scrutiny. Agnew criticised some of the coverage of the competition for implying Test cricket doesn’t provide good theatre.“What annoyed me with The Hundred last year was the subliminal message that you only get the great atmosphere in that form of cricket,” he said. “All those reporters telling us people are having a brilliant time. As if they don’t have a brilliant time at the Test.”On the subject of the coverage of Test cricket, Agnew expressed his frustration at the BBC losing the rights for several England tours to TalkSPORT, but defended the TMS coverage as still being relevant to a younger audience.“I find it frustrating when we don’t have the rights,” he said. “I do understand money is tight. TalkSPORT are in the market to do cricket. If they are going to pay money, cricket administrators want that. I just hope there remains an obligation to cover cricket for the BBC. I’d like to hope TMS will stay.“Young people listen in. One of our biggest audiences is students revising. I would suggest, particularly with cricket not on free to air television, radio is the most accessible way into the game. Plus when I started [on TMS], I was 31 and easily the youngest member of the team. Everyone was an old white bloke. It is a much more diverse commentary team now – I mean it’s a rarity now when a woman isn’t commentating – which makes it more appealing to more people.”
