Test cricket in its subtlety and complexity, its ability to sustain tension over five days, its reverence for the past but ability to produce something new, its test of character and technique, and its unpredictability, is capable of reaching heights that no other sport can reach.
It is also the case that Test cricket is fragile. Cricket is only played seriously in a handful of countries and, in many of them, Test matches are poorly attended compared to the lesser but more accessible forms of the game played with a white ball. Test cricket is both more demanding on players and broadcasters but also less lucrative.
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