Let players decide fate of Test: Warne

Spin legend Shane Warne wants administrators to ask current players about what needs to be done to restore the value of Test cricketShane Warne is the latest to lend his voice to the crescendo of serious concern expressed by past and present players administrators and the media over the parlous situation of Test cricket around the world which if not addressed effectively could result in the traditional game becoming extinctIt Test cricket is still big in Australia England and India but it is poorly attended in a lot of other countries and thats a concern If we are not careful it will hit us so quickly that its dying the spin legend writes in his syndicated columnWrite Line Shane Warne with Ricky Ponting picgetty imagesTest cricket to me and to a lot of the other explayers and public is a great form of the game It has to remain the ultimate we need to promote it push and play an attacking form of cricket Its where youre judged earn your respect and get to show what makes you tickThere has been so much talk about a Test championship and nothing has happened Test cricket needs an injection of something to capture fans around the worldThe International Cricket Council and Cricket Australia should lead the way and do something now u2013 ask the players what they think should be doneJokePlease no more greed with these ridiculous sevenmatch oneday series Its a joke for public and the players Warne writesMeanwhile Australian pace bowler Peter Siddle is undecided about whether he will accept an offer from the Indian Premier League IPL if one comes along as seems likelyThe likely successor to Test pace spearhead Brett Lee said yesterday At this stage I havent really thought about it We have plenty of cricket coming up this summer then in New Zealand so there is still a lot of time to worry about what I am going to do about that so I am just focused on playing for AustraliaSiddle endured a crushing schedule that saw him away from home for almost a year before having to return from the recent tour of India with a side strainMeanwhile many Australian young fast bowlers are reportedly contemplating jumping aboard the lucrative IPL bandwagon in pursuit of riches that make attractive homes and cars possibleStrike bowler Mitchell Johnson has opted for country over lucre for the time being turning down IPL big bucks to preserve his body However it remains to be seen which way Siddle goes when shove comes to push when faced with harsh commercial reality BewareAsking young Australian players to beware the big money lure of the IPL noted cricket commentator Peter Roebuck noted in his column yesterday Australias best young cricketers ought to think long and hard before rushing down IPLs yellow brick road Naturally it is tempting to go for the quick buck or rather a quick millionRoebuck continuesu00a0 Numerous IPL players have returned with dreadful injuries rotten form or soft brains He writes Playing a few 20overs games might not seem much of a commitment but bad habits can easily set in Its only possible to attend so many parties and emerge intact A lot of damage can be done in that period Although other factors were involved Andrew Symonds Brett Lee Kevin Pietersen Andrew Flintoff and Muttiah Muralitharan have all struggled to struggle from their first IPL campaignNor has much been seen of bright sparks such as Ajantha Mendis or Shaun Marsh For that matter Ishant Sharma and Ravi Bopara have gone backwards India cannot find any youngsters to challenge its ageing champions None of them have progressed Some of them have become front foot sweepersNeglectedRoebuck says IPL suits older players on the way out and neglected cricketers anxious to make a mark and a dollarAdam Gilchrist Shane Warne Glenn McGrath and Matthew Hayden he says are perfect fits u2013 great cricketers unable or unwilling to spend days in the field or bowling spells but still magnificent strikers of the ball shrewd bowlers and proud competitors Of course these players became legends in Test cricketers and followed the welltrodden pathu00a0