Steve Waugh accuses crammed schedule, says public are 'overdosed' on cricket

Former Australia skipper and legend Steve Waugh says the busy schedule of cricket these days has dwindled the value of the game. He says the public, at least in Australia, "has almost overdosed" on the game due to it's busy schedule and it has come to a point where the interest level has started to decrease among people.

The cricket window of the modern day is crammed. Around the year, the players play either for their country or take part in various leagues, mostly in the T20 format of the game. And it creates a lot of stress on the players, also it has an impact on the spectators as well. Due to the long list of various cricketing tournaments, people lose interest on a particular series very rapidly, and ultimately their enthusiasm about the game dips.

"There's a lot of cricket, it's hard to follow as a spectator, it's very hard to keep up with it," the former Aussie captain said on SEN's Saturday Morning Mowers Club show. "The three one-dayers against England [earlier this month, which Australia won 3-0] seemed pretty insignificant, really. I mean, what were they playing for? There wasn't big crowds, I think the public has almost overdosed on cricket."

He is not that wrong. Cricketers these days play the game around the year. The schedule was much less hectic a decade or two back. The introductions of various franchise leagues have sky-rocketed the endorsement of the game, along with the stress related to it.

Australia have a busy year ahead. They will be playing in test series against West Indies and South Africa at home, followed by a trip to India for 4 tests and 3 ODIs in February-March. They will face Afghanistan next and then comes the IPL and BBL where many Australian players will be taking part. It will be followed by Ashes in May and then within a few weeks, there will be the ODI world cup in India. Hence, the list is long and Waugh believes these almost overlapping assignments take the interest out of the spectators.

"You want the special series to be iconic, like the Ashes, and against India when they come out here. It's hard to follow the Australian side because every time they play they have a different team on the field. For the fans and spectators, it is hard to make a connection because you're not sure who is playing.

"I don't know if it's anyone's fault but you need that consistency in the Australian side. You want to know who's in the squad every game, you want to be following it closely and it's really hard to do that right now." Waugh added.

Australia will be looking to come back stronger in the coming matches after a disappointing outing in the T20 World Cup at home, where they were eliminated from the Super 12 stage.