Stakeholders seem to have little respect for Test cricket

20 Jan. (CRICKETNMORE) - Why are South Africans considered the top-rated travellers in international cricket? Because, they have an impeccable winning record overseas in all conditions. A team that can do so well, away from home, cannot be beaten easily.

Before leaving the Indian shores on the last three tours, it was said that they had their best chance of winning a series in South Africa.

Now that the series was lost the reasons for the disastrous outing is reduced to nitpicking, comparing the comprehensive nature of India's 3-0 victory back home and the phases of intensity they showed before going down in this series.

Only the Australian and English boards are serious about a full Test series. The Ashes is untouched and they like others, want to play India for the humongous television revenue the matches generate. 

The rest of the bilateral series are mostly reduced to two or three matches. But they have no qualms about playing half a dozen One-Day Internationals (ODI) and half that number of Twenty20 Internationals like the Indians are going to play on this tour.

When international cricket was confined to Test and first class matches, India's longest tour was to England in 1959 and that last almost six months, starting in June and ending in September-end. They lost the series 5-0 and that was also England's first five-Test series sweep.