Why Test cricket continues to charm

Australia v Sri Lanka - First Test: Day 5
Australia v Sri Lanka - First Test: Day 5

52 hours, 34 minutes. Just over 2 days. This is the end-to-end time that one gentleman took to fly around the whole world in scheduled commercial flights. Meanwhile, some Test matches don't even let you know which team has the upper hand in the first 2 days.

"[...] the international blood of other countries be sucked dry by England in trying to keep alive the out-moded, incongruous county cricket system" - this was Jack Fingleton in 1969, worrying about how County cricket contracts would destroy Tests. It is almost 50 years now and Test cricket is still hanging around.

So what is it about Test cricket, a seemingly anachronistic format of the game, that has ensured its survival over the past 140 years? In my opinion, it is owing to 4 major reasons.

1) Bowlers still call the shots here

4 slips, 2 gullies, a short leg and a silly point. With a skilful pacer steaming in while the batsman pushes and prods nervously. The sight of a bowler, a quick or a spinner, terrorising the batsman is something that generations of cricket lovers have savoured. Be it Fred Trueman when he reduced India to 0/4 in 1952, Curtly Ambrose taking 7 wickets for 1 run against Australia in 1993 or Boult-Southee dismantling England for 58 this year at Eden Park.

Yes, we love to see a batsman flamboyantly driving the ball to the cover boundary. But the delight is multiplied when it is against such attacking bowling and fielding. The bowler is at liberty to set the field that he chooses, unlike limited overs cricket where he must bow to fielding restrictions. There is the possibility of swing, reverse swing and spin of varying degrees. In short, Test cricket provides room for a thrilling clash between the personas of batsman and bowler.

Australia v India: 3rd Test - Day 4
Australia v India: 3rd Test - Day 4

2) Different locations offer different challenges

A champion batsman on the turners of the subcontinent may well prove to be a disappointment in the swinging conditions of a Trent Bridge match. Jimmy Anderson is a beast at home, but not an insurmountable threat outside. Herath can fox the best in Sri Lanka but has not been as successful outside. Different locations and tracks provide the chance for new heroes. Rare is the batsman or bowler who performs splendidly everywhere. Of course, exceptions such as a certain D W Steyn exist.

This is the major reason why the ratio of away teams winning Test matches has stayed in the range of 20-30% for the past 100 years. The variety of turn, swing, bounce that each venue provides adds to its attached history and gives it context. It cannot be always said which of 2 teams is better. South Africa drubbed Sri Lanka 3-0 at home but were thrashed 2-0 in Sri Lanka. This makes it harder for a team to be universally accepted as the best; to be the greatest Test team, the team must truly be special.

These Wellington spectators resorted to blankets a
These Wellington spectators resorted to blankets

3) Does not demand constant attention

The very factor that makes Test cricket seem out of date is also what makes it most endearing. The fact that one does not need to be always glued in. Other team sports merit constant attention. Bat an eyelid and Germany may have scored 5 goals against Brazil. Not so with Tests. You could doze off for an entire session and still see the same 2 chaps batting away merrily, perhaps even the same 2 bowlers. Test cricket allows you the liberty of following it along with doing multiple other things. This also means that one could follow half the match via Tweets, skip a few sessions and yet watch the thrilling last session. In the fast-paced world of today, that is a source of comfort indeed. To be able to plug in and out and yet not be left out.

4) An abundance of time forces the most effort from players

"Because in my humble opinion, a hard-fought five-day Test match remains the greatest all-round challenge in modern day sport. A challenge as mentally demanding as it is physical. A challenge demanding the very highest levels of concentration of technique, of determination, of stamina, all, for the batsman at least, with no second chances." These are not the words of W G Grace; these are the words of the forerunner of modern cricket, Kevin Pietersen.

Donald Floors Atherton
Donald floors Atherton

Imagine a T20 match where the batsman has scored only 6 runs in the past 2 overs. One senses that something will give. The batsman will invariably go for a hoick and the bowler's chance will come. Not so in Tests.

Time is not forcing the batsman to go for the big shots and make an error in the process. A wicket can only be extracted by the skill and guile of the bowler and his team. Likewise, a batsman cannot hope to play a couple of overs, score a quickfire 20 and then depart with the feeling of a job well done. He has to stay put for dozens of overs, against various bowlers and various times of the day. Time running out will never be an acceptable excuse for him throwing away his wicket. In a nutshell, Test cricket demands patience. And a player's lack or abundance of it is conspicuous for one and all to see.

All these reasons sum up why Test cricket continues to retain its own special spot in the hearts of cricket lovers!

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Edited by Jilin Cherian