Following On

Thanks to a Sportsfreak poster, the penny has dropped.

Ever since Laxman and Co belted the Aussies around Calcutta and won a test after following on, teams have been reluctant to enforce it, citing giving the bowlers a rest and not wanting to potentially bat last on a deteriorating pitch.

Such excuses wear thin, especially last week at the Gabba where Oz had a 445 run lead and the bowlers had hardly raised a sweat in the 60 overs of "toil".

So the real reason? Well cricketers are partly paid from a percentage of revenue (in this case 25%) which includes such things as gate takings. In case you can't work it out, gate takings for a 5 day test are rather larger than takings for a 3 or 4 day test, especially when the ground is sold out before the game starts.

Players complaining about too much cricket should perhaps ensure tests are not dragged out unnecessarily if they want to be taken seriously.