The Hindu : Sport : Fiddling with the Test format is disturbing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 11, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

Fiddling with the Test format is disturbing

S. Dinakar

Chennai: There are voices — disturbing in nature — heard about the duration of Test cricket being reduced from five days to four. Such an exercise could hurt the very fabric of the truest form of the game.

Here we look at the different scenarios that could emerge and explore ways to preserve Test cricket.

1. Could the number of overs be curtailed? Test cricket is the original and the most complete form since it allows the game to take its natural course. There is nothing artificially induced such as the restriction on the number of overs.

It’s hard to imagine how Test cricket could be reduced to four days without limiting the number of overs. If this happens, Test cricket would be a bloated extension of the limited overs variety.

2. No fifth day wear and tear: One of the charms of Test cricket is the progressive deterioration of the surface and how cricketers overcome the challenges.

The pitch, generally, begins assisting spinners from the fourth evening as the surface gets sandy at the top enabling the ball to grip the surface.

You could have rough on either side of the wicket due to bowlers’ footmarks or cracks might develop on the wicket. Winning or saving the Test on the fifth day is often the pinnacle of Test cricket.

Had there been no fifth day, India’s remarkable chase of 387 in the fourth innings against England at Chepauk last year would never have happened. And the cricketing world would not have witnessed Sachin Tendulkar’s spirit-lifting unbeaten 103.

Bowlers work in combinations. Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were a legendary pace–spin pair. Apart from consuming batsmen with his precision, off-stump line, subtle movement and bounce, McGrath would also create the rough for Warne, the classical leg-spinner, to exploit on day five.

The sight of the ball turning, bouncing and hissing past the batsmen with a cordon of close catchers around the bat could become rarer and rarer.

The pressures of coping with spinners on a fifth day track is among the foremost challenges in the game. A batsman’s temperament and skill come under scrutiny as vociferous appeals rent the air.

Any reduction in the number of overs could be detrimental to spin bowling; it could adversely affect the mind-set of the spinners and how they approach their bowling. Flight, deception and attacking spin could go out of the window.

3. Danger of teams playing for a draw: Assuming for a moment that the ICC does not actually restrict the number of overs — highly unlikely — then the teams would have the option of simply playing out a draw.

It can be argued that plenty of Tests these days actually finish inside four days.

But then, this essentially happens since the side on the mat does not quite back itself to last all five days.

However, it could shut shop in a four-day Test and play out a draw. A very negative form of cricket could be encouraged.

4. More stimulating tactically: If followed keenly and with an analytical mind, Test cricket is gripping even on those occasions when the proceedings — on the surface — appear boring.

There is a tactical duel going on, there are subtle changes in the field settings, the captain and the bowlers plan and plot, and the batsmen will back themselves to bat through the over, spell, the session and the day.

A batsman’s concentration levels and his ability to absorb the stress are probed. Test cricket is not about the pace of run-getting alone. It’s a lot about the intensity of the combat between the bat and the ball.

5. Innings building skills could be hurt: If Test cricket is compressed, it will adversely impact innings building skills. Already playing too many strokes in the game’s longest format as a direct consequence of ODI and Twenty20 cricket, the batsmen could be further tempted to desert technique for instant glory.

There is as much beauty and skill in defence as in offence, in proper technique as in inventive strokeplay. Great defensive innings to save Tests from the golden greats of the pasts are part of cricketing folklore. A draw need not necessarily be without suspense and drama.

6. Improve the quality of pitches: Preparing sporting pitches with bounce and carry will do more for Test cricket than reducing the number of days.

Too many pitches these days are placid and essentially made for ODI and Twenty20 cricket where the emphasis is on batting and a glut of runs.

7. Test cricket still has a large following: There has been a drop in the in-stadia viewership for Tests in the sub-continent but the five-day format is still largely followed on television, radio and the net. Better facilities for the spectators in the stadiums will bring the fans back.

8. The concept of day/night Tests: It is a certainly a better idea than a four-day Test but conditions could change drastically during night when dew could be a major factor. And what would be the colour of the ball?

Test cricket should be played in whites only. Adjusting in the longer format, between the natural and the artificial light, is easier said than done.

9. Are the changes being proposed to create time for the other forms of the game?: This would be a tragedy if true. Test cricket should not be compromised in the guise of packaging it more attractively — the five-day game is no commodity — and creating space for the more lucrative limited overs tournaments.

10. Preserve Test cricket’s uniqueness: Tradition is to be celebrated and there can be no better example than the Ashes; the celebration of a famous rivalry.

Every Test series is an event in itself and there should be a proper build-up to matches. The short series of the two-Test variety — often meaningless — dilute the very concept of Test cricket.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport