Tests need a fillip...

Is there an imminent danger being posed to the future of test cricket? Over the past year, cricket experts, commentators and the ICC have been stressing that the five day game is endangered and concrete steps need to be taken to prevent it from dying out. This is one of those rare issues where the views if the ICC and the experts have concurred and deserves to be discussed in some detail. The biggest factors contributing to the so called decline of tests include unequal and boring contests, dwindling audiences, lifeless tracks and the extraordinary rise of Twenty-20 cricket which has taken the cricketing world by storm.

In a recent article in Cricnfo, Sambit Bal stresses the need for the game to get a little more elitist and make it more captivating for the viewers by preventing grossly unequal and boring contests which often take away the charm of the game. Top flight test cricket seems to be restricted only to say 5 teams now with Pakistan, New Zealand and West Indies rebuilding and struggling through problems galore in selection and other criteria. Test cricket is a total contrast to other forms of the game and to most other sports as well. It is built on technique, patience, focus, sound strategy and further goes on to emphasize the necessity for a team to dominate consistently for long periods and not just a short span of overs which is the case in the slam bang version i.e. T-20. When there are contests between top teams and the weaker teams that are struggling to find their feet, undoubtedly, even the most hardcore cricket fan would struggle to sit through it.

Dwindling crowds for test matches the world over have created a huge concern for the administrators. Only Australia and England tend to regularly draw huge crowds for test matches whilst in most other countries including India, grounds are hardly filled even for major contests. This can be dealt with by staging the test matches in only the top cricket grounds of the country. Test matches in India staged at the Eden Gardens or in some of the bigger cities such as Bangalore and Chennai would be most likely to attract a good crowd whereas if the game is held in some of the lesser known centres, the audience is not a very cricket literate one and would surely choose to avoid a test match simply because they consider it a slow moving game and do not understand the nuances of the format. This is probably the first point that the administrators need to consider especially in India where there are umpteen grounds but only the ones in the bigger cities can truly attract a test cricket loving audience.

While ODI and T-20 cricket in particular has totally shifted the balance towards batsmen, test cricket albeit only just, still remains the format where there is a much closer contest between bat and ball. Lifeless and placid tracks worldwide coupled with rules loaded in favour of batsmen have shifted the balance in tests too. All through the 60's to the 90's, test cricket was enjoyed and contests were cherished because of the fact that tracks had some grass and bounce. Bowlers had the support they needed and this presented a much more even contest. Brilliant batsmen came up against the finest of bowlers on pitches that had a fair share of help for both parties and this resulted in some classic test cricket. The game revelled in its ability to produce mouth watering contests within contests, pitting great players against each other and the clashes made the matches all the more absorbing. With the tracks the world over getting all the more placid and dull, batsmen have a field day and the surfaces are turning into graveyards for the bowlers. A fine example of a good test match pitch can be the Australian grounds which offer a fair deal of assistance to both bat and ball throughout the five days and more often than not test matches held there produce results. The West Indian and sub continent pitches are quite the opposite with average scores of 500 being a normal occurrence. There is almost no hope of achieving a result on these tracks and no cricket lover would even like to catch these games on television let alone actually bothering to visit the stadium. Unless the pitches are well prepared to give the bowlers and the batsmen a fair advantage, there is no way contests can be made exciting enough for audiences the world over.

Perhaps the biggest threat for test cricket has come from the remarkable rise of T-20 cricket. This ultra short form of the game is fast and exciting to the modern viewer. Whilst it is true that it is extremely racy and has high skill levels, it does not allow for any focus on technique, concentration, strategy and lacks the sense of drama and theatre that are weaved into tests. The humongous money involved in T-20 has led many people to start feeling that players might opt for this simply due to the lure of mammon. While there is quite a possibility that many players might feel it is much better to make a fast buck by sticking to T-20, the vast majority still do believe that to truly be classified among the greats and to be recognized, it is paramount to perform in tests. Test cricket still does continue to explore all facets of a player's game and without doubt showcases his strengths and exposes his frailties the best of all formats of the game. There is definitely room for all three formats and the ICC, with good foresight, plan the future tours programme well to incorporate the right number of tests, odi's and T-20's.

There is surely a necessity for an official ICC test championship which allows for keener contests among the top 4-5 teams and brings out the best in them. This is in the pipeline and I sure hope something positive materializes soon enough. Test cricket has for years been a cricket lover's delight and has produced innumerable legends and fantastic contests all along. It is faced with its biggest challenge now and I am pretty sure, the strong foundation the game's oldest format is built on will stand it in good stead and help it tide through these turbulent times.