Fans prefer Test cricket over ODI and T20, reveals an MCC survey

What's the story?

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has revealed that a staggering 86% of fans prefer watching Test cricket over ODI and Twenty20.

In case you didn't know...

Many of the fans are under the assumption that Test cricket is on the wane and T20 cricket is what everyone wants to see. None of them were wrong in assuming that because of the popularity of the T20 leagues like Big Bash League, Indian Premier League, T20 Blast, and Carribean Premier League. However, the MCC says otherwise.

The heart of the matter

Who said Test cricket is dying? 86% of fans prefer the longest format of the game and say Test cricket is the "ultimate" form. The survey was carried out across 100 countries with over 13,000 fans participating.

The second most popular format is One Day Internationals (ODI) and third comes the T20I. Fans do not seem to prefer a lot of domestic T20 cricket.

In a similar survey conducted by ICC last year, it was revealed that cricket had more than a billion fans globally, and close to 70% (of 19,000 participants) supported Test cricket.

Current and former cricketers' reaction to the survey:

Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka captain who has been on the MCC World Cricket committee since 2012, said that he was not entirely surprised by the results.

Virat Kohli has expressed his commitment to maintaining the position of Test cricket at the top of the sport.

Former England captain Mike Gatting, who is the chairman of the MCC World Cricket committee, said that administrators ought to listen to the fans' concerns in order to stave off the imposing challenge that T20 leagues and forthcoming tournaments like The Hundred pose.

What's next?

The focus now shifts towards the Indian Premier League and then to the ICC World Cup in England.