Moeen Ali has expressed his fears for the future of Test cricket, suggesting even the Ashes is losing some of its magic after a "disappointing" public reaction in Australia.
The allrounder is back on England duty after being rested for the Twenty20 tri- series and is preparing for the one-day campaign against New Zealand, which begins in Hamilton on Sunday.
But it was the fate of the red-ball game which occupied his mind as he fielded questions at the team hotel in Auckland.
Questioning the viability, the marketability or long-range prospects of the five-day format is hardly new – the sport has arguably been engaged in an extended existential crisis ever since T20 emerged on the scene – but the old rivalry between England and Australia has always been thought immune.
Moeen had a torrid series from a personal point of view as the tourists were outclassed 4-0, but he revealed the entire occasion had failed to live up to the hype.
"It's been a worry for a while but Australia really opened my eyes. I found it disappointing," he said of his first Test tour there.
"I feared (for the future) in the Ashes, actually. The crowds were quite disappointing in general.
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"There were a couple of days – Boxing Day, the first day of the series – but even when they won the Ashes there weren't that many people celebrating.
"That's when I thought, 'Actually, we're struggling a bit'. We're very lucky in England – after being all around the world and seeing the crowds everywhere else, we've got the best fans, we've got full houses most of the time.
"But I think the Big Bash had bigger crowds than the Ashes. That's great for T20 but for Test matches it's a massive worry."
Cricket Australia, however, would be quick to point out it has considerably bigger stadia to fill than England and can rightly claim the series provided both a record attendance at the Adelaide Oval and a bumper crowd of 88,172 at the MCG on Boxing Day.
PA
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