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Time to stamp out placid pitches

Test cricket must work harder to protect its position

PETER ROEBUCK

Nothing is more calculated to kill Test cricket than the sort of moribund pitch recently prepared at Lord’s. The home of the game has produced five successive high scoring draws.

Is the game serious about surviving? Does it want IPL to rule the roost? Every other sport is taking steps to attract spectators. Soccer has produced a cleaner game and faster pitches. Rugby has altered its rules to keep the game moving.

Cricket has introduced one-day cricket and so forth. Even the Test format has improved, with lost time recaptured, but a lot more needs to be done or else it will continue to fade away.

If the authorities are committed to Test cricket they will stop alienating crowds and viewers by staging stalemates. Although it is also a struggle between opposing forces, cricket is primarily a contest between bat and ball.

Ultimate expression

Test cricket has survived because it is the ultimate expression of those contests. At its best it pits the masters of rival crafts against each other without imposing constraints on either. It is the most naked form of the game.

From Fred Spofforth and W.G. Grace to Shane Warne against Sachin Tendulkar, these confrontations have been gripping. Provided both sides get a fair crack of the whip the game reaches its highest point when the mighty meet in direct conflict. But when one side is compromised the fascination wanes.

One-day matches provide passing excitement. Test matches offer memorable events. But it all depends on the pitch. If it is as docile as a sheep then the tension rapidly evaporates and the game becomes a performance. Precious little fun can be taken for the mere collection of runs, the satisfaction of statisticians.

The game does not belong to dry figures but to the spirit and the soul. It is a game of adventure and caution, a game of choices, an expression of character. Remove the sense of contest and the drama is lost.

Test cricket is not followed by fools. It is easy to blame the groundsmen for these impasses. Certainly it is unhelpful to sing their praises every time a team reaches 500. But it is also time to stop instructing them to ensure matches last five days.

Destroying the product

Concerned about the consequences of an early collapse, they are shaving their pitches to the scalp, thereby removing most of their life. Having paid a fortune for the rights, television companies naturally want to get their money’s worth but by insisting upon dead surfaces they are helping to destroy their product.

But it is not only dull pitches that are stifling a great form of the game. Slow over-rates, self-indulgent breaks for bad light, lengthy delays when sightscreens are moved, a boot lace is tied or captains consult or batsmen come and go or drinks are taken add to the impression of a game that does not care about its supporters. Part of the appeal of T20 is that it takes spectators into account.

Lucky

Test cricket has been lucky in the last few years. Its strongest team has attacked with gusto. Scoring rates have increased. Spin has been revived.

Several of history’s most thrilling series have been played, in England, the West Indies and India. Some exceptionally charismatic champions have emerged. It has been a fertile period and it’s not going to last.

Test cricket must work harder to protect its position. More than it realises, the game depends upon it. All the more reason to stamp out placid pitches.

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