The Final Test: The Uncertain Future of Cricket’s First-Class Game

’A compelling book... Test cricket is hanging on. It’s a worry’ - Graham Gooch

’Huw Turbervill is the ultimate passionate polemicist for the Test format’ - David Gower OBE

THE EDITOR OF THE CRICKETER GOES ON A SOUL-SEARCHING JOURNEY TO DISCOVER WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR TEST CRICKET

The Final Test is a love letter to cricket and a manifesto in favour of the Test format. Taking readers on a nostalgic journey, Huw Turbervill shares stories of cricket past and present and of the incredible characters the sport has encountered over the years: Viv Richards, Graham Gooch, David Gower, Merv Hughes, Richard Hadlee and more.

In a tumultuous sporting landscape, the cricket community, however, seems undecided about the future of Test cricket. The IPL is expanding, The Hundred still seems to dominate the thoughts of English cricket’s controllers, and the men’s Ashes in 2023 was relegated to a narrow window. As T20 keeps growing internationally and domestically like Japanese knotweed, attracting more fans than ever before, is it still possible for the longer format to retain its wistful shine?

Huw asks a five-star panel of cricketers, commentators and writers if Test cricket can truly survive the next decade. Shouldn’t we keep a tradition filled with memories of days gone by? Could we instead try to maintain a healthy balance of formats all year round? How about accepting that times need to change? Are Huw and others too nostalgic and conservative? This book is the ultimate soul-searching journey around the great game.

Huw Turbervill has been the editor of The Cricketer since 2015 after 15 years at the Telegraph (even doing some touring as Scyld Berry’s sidekick). He started his career in Ipswich at the East Anglian Daily Times. His books include The Toughest Tour: The Ashes Away Series Since the War and The Cricketer’s Anthology of the Ashes.