More And More Players Will Become White-Ball Specialists: Mark Taylor

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has said young cricketers opting to play white-ball cricket will happen more and more in near future. He added that the governing bodies must make Test cricket more financially attractive to ensure players remain focused on the longest format of the game.

"We've seen in recent times players become one-day specialists or white-ball specialist, and that is going to happen more and more. To keep attracting young players who come through… to want to play Test cricket, is going to be more difficult," said Taylor to Wide World of Sports on Wednesday.

"I know that's something that's been discussed now for a long time, rewarding and prioritising the (Test) game by making it more financially attractive. If you go back to my time, there was no golden goose Big Bash or IPL. The way you made money playing cricket in Australia was to be a good Test cricketer and then also a good one-day cricketer. But you really had to force yourself to be a good Test cricketer first and foremost," added Taylor.

The 56-year-old hopes for the year-end Ashes in Australia to go ahead as planned. There remain doubts on many Test members of England flying to Australia for the Ashes over COVID-19 outbreaks in the country, lack of clarity on quarantine and families joining the players on the long trip.

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"I'd like to think if you look at Australia, come December 8 when the first Test is due, another couple of months from now, hopefully by then we've got our 70 percent double vaxxed rate up right across Australia, or at least in the majority of states. I think that in itself should put anyone's mind at ease in regards to travelling here and Australia being a safe country," concluded Taylor.