Test cricket, a fight within

Cricketers dressed in white with a red cherry in their hands gained respect since the game of cricket was born. The coloured clothing and the white ball has taken the world by storm, especially with the advent of Twenty20 cricket. Test cricket has been trying to stand on its own, with stiff competition from 50 50 over’s cricket (ODI) and the even shorter format, Twenty20 cricket in its recent years.

Twenty20 had been introduced by England initially and later adopted by other countries. It began to extract large revenues from ticket sales and endorsements. It was started in order to attract the crowds towards the stadiums. They were successful in doing so. People from all walks of life found this format interesting, as the result was decided in a short span of 3 hours. The crowds gathered for the occasion was guaranteed fun filled entertainment.

With the rise of Twenty20, test cricket took a back seat. Test cricket played during the calendar year began to decrease as twenty20 matches became a permanent fixture in any tour. The world began to witness how the Gentlemen’s game fell in trap of commercialized version of the game. Then the Indian Premier League (IPL) showcased the format in such a way that billionaires around the globe turned their heads towards cricket without even knowing what kind of a sport it is. They were in the IPL to double up their Swiss accounts.

Test cricket began to lose its shine as crowds began to find the 5 day game longer and boring. Owing to this fact, the International Cricket Council has chalked out some plans to make Test cricket interesting, like there are talks of staging a test cricket world cup. It really seems an innovating approach to the game, but for it to take shape, it needs serious planning for a year or so.

Test cricket still remains to be a top priority among international acclaimed cricketers. Test cricket demands much more than any other format. It’s an ultimate test of any cricketer. Playing for 5 days in a row demands solid concentration, determination, temperament etc. So the hard fought earned victory of over 5 days is much sweeter than any other triumph.

One of the most interesting aspects of test cricket is the 22 yards pitch where cricket is to be played over 5 days. The initial days of a test match normally backs the batsmen and the bowlers too when the pitch has fair bounce, and later when the pitch starts to wear and tear then the batsmen face the music with the spinning cobra’s atleast in India. But these days the pitches are tailor made according to the wishes of the home team. Best cricket is played on those sporting wickets which have something for batsmen, faster bowlers and spinners too. Players defending the ball with precision, bowlers opening the batsmen like beans with their movement, spinners bowling batsmen through the gates are classic sight for any ardent cricket fan, which can be witnessed in true sporting wickets.

Test cricket does not give batsmen the chance to score free and easy runs with strong fielding arrangements. The scope for making mistake in test cricket is very minimal especially for batsmen as an edge which produces a four in shorter form may be a simple catch in any of the slip fielders in a test match.

The vanishing art of Reverse swing bowling can be seen only in test cricket, where the same ball is used for a minimum of 80 overs. Its master exponent was Wasim Akram. Only good batsmen can handle these deliveries with perfection, else they will look like someone in a lost Island. There are very few bowlers who can perfect this art. Two players who immediately spring in our minds are Malinga and Zaheer Khan from the current crop of players.

Test cricket is here to stay. It will shrug off all formats of the game to fly high.Twenty20 cricket is like a baby, who will be loved by everyone initially. The 50 over game has to be nurtured and monitored regularly. Test cricket will be like grandparents who will always be respected for what they have done in the past. Why do players first get a chance to represent their countries in the shorter format of the game, and then later the longest format of the game? It is because the players need to pass the “Test” of a Twenty and a Fifty over game before being declared fit to play at the pinnacle level of international cricket, which is the 5 day game better known as test cricket.