controversial among players and writers alike. Cricket historians have generally opposed the decision because of inconsistency in that the 1970 Rest of the World series in England is not accorded Test status, although those matches were advertised as Test matches at the time. Officially, however, Test status seems unlikely to be withdrawn from the 2005 Super Test in part because of the effect on noted cricket records; for instance without the wickets taken in this match, Muthiah Muralidaran would fall slightly short of 800 career test wickets. Statisticians such as Bill Frindall have said that they will not recognise the ruling and will exclude the matches from their records. Although it has been said that this "raises the possibility of two competing sets of cricket statistics being in circulation", that has always been a reality because there has never been a standard for match status and statisticians have always used their own match lists. Many current and former Test cricketers also joined in the debate. For example, former Australian captain Allan Border said: "I firmly believe that this status should be restricted to matches between national sides. Test cricket is an institution that has been built up over a period of 128 years, and it should not be tampered with". (Although arguably this overlooks the anomaly related to the West Indies, as well as the fact that Australia and South Africa both competed in what are now deemed test matches in the nineteenth century prior to formal political unification.) Conversely, Tony Greig, who played for the Rest of the World against Australia in 1971–1972, said "My understanding of the status of first-class and Test cricket is related to the standard of the players. These are all Test cricketers... [The 1971–72 matches] were played like Tests and were deadly serious. " The matches themselves were characterised by poor crowds (half empty grounds) and lacklustre performances by the World XI. Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott described the series as a "bunfight" and said that there was "nothing that resembled cricket" in it. The authoritative publication The Wisden Cricketer summed up the Test match as follows: " [it] was a terrible game of cricket. It had a small crowd, little meaning and was forgotten quickly." The World XI players seemed to be there more for fun than anything else. Andrew Flintoff came up with some refreshingly honest statements amidst all the bullish officials: