Why Buttler and Stokes are great advertisement for Test cricket?

Can Pink ball save Test cricket? Can four-day Tests revive red-ball cricket? Can ICC Test Championships give a new lease of life to Test cricket? How can Tests survive in the T20 era? 360 degrees batsman AB de Villiers retired, Chris Gayle - the Universe Boss - doesn’t play the format and a few cricketers retired and turned T20 specialists. How will Tests survive?

A cricket aficionado, who still admires and applauds a ‘well left’ shot, often states: “Modern day batsmen don’t want to be tested. They travel poorly. It’s all about T20 leagues. Australians play IPL but they can’t play Test cricket in India, South Africa can’t handle spin in Sri Lanka. Asian teams get drubbed in moving conditions. Where is Test cricket heading towards? Even crowds want to see only sixes and fours!”

Similar views are echoed by many, so many, across the globe. What can we do to save Test cricket? A few minnows were encouraged and were given Test status only for the No 1 Test side to blow away one such minnow in less than two sessions!

Again, the question emerged. What can we do to save Test cricket?

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Glenn McGrath

'Top cricketers should play Test cricket too'

Former Aussie legend Glenn McGrath had a simple answer. “If you have got good quality cricket, have the best players playing Test cricket, that’s what you want. We don’t want just the best players just playing the T20 cricket, it’s got to be at the Test level as well,” McGrath had told Sportskeeda in an exclusive chat last month. A bit louder, please: “Quality cricketers to play more Test cricket.”

During the chat prior to the England series, McGrath had stated that one thing he wanted to change in cricket was for teams to travel well away from home in Test cricket.

“I know India have done quite well abroad (recently),” and added, “I think when teams tour they don’t seem to play as well. When Australia tour India, South Africa tour Sri Lanka... I like to see teams adapting a lot more when they travel overseas.”

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Jos Buttler

The emergence of ‘Test batsman’ Buttler

Virat Kohli plays all formats. Kohli is a once in a generation cricketer, isn’t he? He consumes fifties for breakfast and hundreds for lunch! He has the technique and never got tagged as a single-format player right from the start of his career.

How about Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler? T20 stars. IPL’s big buys. They have pummelled bowling attacks into submission in a matter of few balls.

Buttler can bring out the audacious reverse sweep of the very first ball he faces. Stokes can unleash strike after strike at will. And then these two cricketers, who have shown their supremacy in limited-overs cricket thus far, proved to be the biggest advertisement for Test cricket on Tuesday.

It was a story of two flashy, flamboyant and destructive players curbing their natural instincts for a period of 57.2 overs against a top quality Indian bowling attack under trying conditions. Buttler, featuring in the England side as a specialist batsman, did justice to the middle-order batsman’s tag.

Buttler’s hands that have reached out on numerous occasions to slice, carve, scoop pacers with disdain over the covers region were, for a change, shouldering arms ball after ball. Test batsman Buttler knew his challenge. It was about batting as many balls as he could.

Probably, Buttler, who smashed his maiden Test century, walked onto the field requesting the scorer to remove the strike-rate column when he batted.

Ben Stokes

A gutsy Stokes on display

Stokes did showcase guts in the longer format when he emerged in the Test arena as he stood tall against Mitchell Johnson & Co in the famous 2013 Test series smashing a hundred on a typical Perth wicket on the final day. But still, he is best remembered for bullying bowlers in white-ball cricket.

Stokes, who is back after a court trial, always had the potential to defend. On a sarcastic note, it was evident even in one of the ODIs against India recently.

The southpaw, who has a history of getting out to spinners with some loose strokes, decided to put his head down and defend R Ashwin gallantly. He looked ungainly on most occasions but he hung on. That’s what Test cricket is all about.

England and Test cricket’s biggest gain from the fourth day of the third Test was Buttler grafting his way to a hundred and Stokes trying to defy all odds with his gritty batsmanship. They could have easily thrown their bats at scoring a 25-ball 40 each and perished. They probably know they were neither going to be scapegoats for what looks like a massive defeat nor their position in the side is in danger.

However, they were determined and Test cricket is more about guts and determination. What else do you need as advertisement for Test cricket. It's time for cricket boards to ensure more quality cricketers play red ball cricket.