The sheen of Test Cricket, despite witnessing results game after game, is missing in the absence of contests. Matches are finished well within three to four days from the stipulated five days. No matter who is up against whom, the scenario remains the same.
The recent Test Match between South Africa and India at Centurion Park was another prime example of capitulation where the latter succumbed to an innings and 32 run-defeat against the former. The match was finished within three days. A major disappointment for Team India in their quest to win the final frontier i.e. to beat SA in SA in a Test Series. The Men in Blue have failed to do so over 3 decades. And the dream remains elusive for the time being!
Down Under, Pakistan faced two back-to-back defeats in Perth and Melbourne at the hands of the Kangaroos. These matches also didn’t go to the final day as Australia wrapped up the proceedings within four days. No contests again, which is sad for Test Cricket.
The ICC brought in the World Test Championship (WTC) post the 2019 Cricket World Cup to draw attention to the longest format of the game. Two cycles have been done, but those hard-fought games of the old are very few and far.
But Why Don’t Test Matches Witness Contests These Days?
The generation has changed dramatically; the focus on the purest form of the game has certainly dipped in the cash-rich era of IPL and several other T-20 leagues around the world. But there are several other reasons, too, that account for poor test match performances by the teams around the world. Let’s check out the same.
Cash-rich T-20 Leagues
Everybody embraces challenges that come with the BIGGEST PRIZE. IPL, BBL, PSL and several other T-20 leagues run on the top of everyone’s mind, including cricketers and spectators. While players, franchisees and administrators rake in millions and billions, those coming out to watch games in stadiums and those watching the same in front of their television sets are embracing the fun and glamour that come with the same. Amid the thrills and madness of T-20 leagues come the fast burial of Test Match Contests, if not the game.
But Why Blame T-20 Leagues for Poor Test Match Performances?
Firstly, these T-20 leagues take away the players’ focus on Test match cricket, which can be physically, mentally and emotionally draining over five days. Given that surfaces for Test matches are result-yielding, batters need to concentrate hard and withstand tough batting conditions outside the home to put their team in a good position. Whereas bowlers need to be patient by bowling to the corridor of uncertainty i.e. around the good length spot consistently.
However, the increased exposure to T-20 cricket has resulted in batters throwing caution to the wind and getting out cheaply in the process. Batters these days don’t have the technique and resilience to combat tough batting conditions. No matter whether it’s a bouncy wicket, a seaming surface or a rank turner, batters succumb all over. Whereas bowlers struggle to find the right length and lack the patience to bowl to one side of the wicket for long. But come T-20 leagues and these players will rise and grab all the headlines.
Selection Based on T-20 League Heroics Rather Than Domestic Performances
Despite knowing that Test Cricket is dramatically different from the other two formats of the game, selectors select players based on T-20 league performances rather than picking players who have done well in First Class Cricket. The constant snubbing of Sarfaraz Khan, who has been a revelation in Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and several other domestic tournaments, and the selection of guys like Ishan Kishan and Yashasvi Jaiswal shows the selectors’ mindset.
Wrapping Up
Simply organising WTC is not enough to draw attention towards the cultural heritage of the game i.e. Test Cricket. It needs a holistic effort on the part of cricketers and administrators around the world. Maybe incentivising players involved in domestic cricket is the way forward. Why not market tournaments like Ranji Trophy and other domestic leagues? It’s time the International Cricket Council (ICC) urges every cricket board to make their domestic cricket structure competitive rather than focusing only on the money-spinning tool of T-20 leagues. The holistic structural overhaul will likely pave the way for contests the purest form of the game used to witness maybe a decade ago or so.
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