Former Australia captain Steve Waugh says New Zealand shouldn’t bother playing a Test series against a depleted Proteas team in February.
Due to a scheduling clash with its SA20 franchise tournament, Cricket South Africa on Saturday named a 14-man Proteas squad for the two-Test tour of New Zealand featuring seven new caps, including captain Neil Brand.
With no SA20 players available for selection, the Proteas squad has just 50 Test caps between them.
“Obviously they [CSA] don’t care,” Waugh told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“If I was New Zealand I wouldn’t even play the series. I don’t know why they’re even playing. Why would you when it shows a lack of respect for New Zealand cricket?”
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Waugh referred to other nations who hadn’t selected their best squads recently, saying “it’s pretty obvious what the problem is.”
“The West Indies aren’t sending their full-strength side [to Australia this summer]. They haven’t picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.
“Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn’t play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now.
“Even Pakistan didn’t send a full side [to Australia for the current Test series].
“If the ICC or someone doesn’t step in shortly then Test cricket doesn’t become Test cricket because you’re not testing yourself against the best players.”
Waugh said the solution was to pay Test players properly.
“I don’t understand why the ICC or the top countries who are making a lot of money don’t just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium, so people are incentivised to play Test cricket. Otherwise they just play T10 or T20.
“The public are the ones who are going to suffer because it’s not the full side playing, so it’s not Test cricket.”
