Indian great Rahul Dravid has demanded administrators revamp the ad hoc approach to cricket scheduling or risk being responsible for the game's demise.
Delivering the Sir Donald Bradman Oration last night at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra - the first time it was held here in its 10-year history - Dravid spoke strongly about how all three cricket formats could be improved and preserved.
Dravid said international cricket must better appreciate its fans, and must recognise that dwindling crowds for Test and ODI matches is a sign the current approach is broken.
Almost 39, the oldest man currently playing Test cricket said five-day matches were ''the gold standard ... the form the players want to play.''
Dravid slammed cricketing bodies for the prevalence of meaningless ''merry-go-round'' tours that in his opinion, mean Test series are often too short and hold no context.
He said if the tradition of five-day cricket is to survive as the pinnacle of the sport, revolutionary concepts such as day-night Tests and a Test championship must be pursued.
''In March of last year I played a day-night first-class game in Abu Dhabi for the MCC - and my experience from that was that day-night Tests is an idea seriously worth exploring,'' he told a packed audience in the ANZAC room of the memorial.
''The visibility and durability of the pink cricket ball was not an issue.
''Similarly, a Test championship with every team and player driving themselves to be winners of a sought after title seems like it would have a context to every game. Every Test playing country [to] get its fair share of Tests and playing for a championship or a cup, not just a ranking.''
Dravid said overwhelming public support for Twenty20 spoke for itself, but it should be restricted to ''domestic competitions through official leagues which will make it financially attractive for cricketers ... and also keep cricket viable in countries where it fights for space and attention.''
On fixing, Dravid backed Steve Waugh's call for players to willingly submit to lie-detector tests, so the innocent are cleared and the fight against corruption is boosted.
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