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Cricket has always had many faces

Peter Roebuck

Besides confirming that no cause is ever lost whilst a gifted young batsman remains at the crease, J.P. Duminy’s dazzling innings in the opening match of the Champions League served notice to other versions of the game.

The implications were clear. The old-timers need to wake up or they will be swept aside. All the more reason to clamour for faster over rates, night Test matches, fewer uneven contests and more consideration for spectators. The more formal parts of the game need to put welcoming smiles on their faces.

Yet, connoisseurs need not despair. Test cricket will survive because it is loved. It’s possible to enjoy T20 but not to love it. The Beatles were right.

Priceless opportunity

All you need is love. Just that love too needs to be nurtured or else the attraction of one-night stands grows. The surge in T20 presents the game with a priceless opportunity to sort itself out. Twenty-over cricket caught on because bad habits had taken hold in the mainstream.

Lazy thinking had weakened the game. Far too many idle, predictable matches were played. Play stopped for bad light or because a drop of rain had fallen. It was the merest self-indulgence.

Cricket was saved not by its decision-takers, but by a brilliant Australian outfit and wonderful batsmen and bowlers from the sub-continent.

Now, cricket faces a challenge unique in sport. No other ball game has attempted to combine so many different forms. Everyone is used to the idea that music has many sounds: sitar and piano, jazz and hip-hop, opera and rock. Music also has many moods: reflective, humorous, tragic.

Same fundamentals

Hitherto, it has been assumed that a ball game has an ideal length, size of field, number of players and so on. Rules are periodically tweaked but the fundamentals remain the same.

No such constancy has ever existed in cricket. In hindsight, it’s amazing that 20-over cricket was so long delayed. After all, it has been played on village greens and maidans for a hundred years. Forty years ago my club team took part in two 20-over competitions. And the same applies to the 40- and 50-over game.

Cricket has always had many faces, all of them accepted further down the line. Only the upper echelons were solemn. It takes a mixture of breathtaking bravado and deep pockets to break up the established patterns in any sport because vested interests are strong and games tend to be governed by people in love with its past.

Between them, Kerry Packer and Lalit Modi provided the required impetus; night cricket, coloured clothing and a more user-friendly game have been the results.

Allies, not rivals

At first, Packer cricket was described as a circus, an insult to the quality and endeavour of those taking part. In fact, it counts amongst the toughest cricket ever played. Now T20 is patronised by the puritans. But, cricket’s various formats are not rivals but allies.

Far from signifying the death of Test cricket, the 20-over game can uplift it by forcing it to confront its weak points. No longer can cricket tolerate 10 Test playing nations and endless series. It’s time for a championship and divisions.

No longer can gloom and light rain cause all and sundry to flee. No longer can 13 overs an hour be regarded as satisfactory. No longer can lunch breaks last 40 minutes. Test cricket ought not to take anything for granted.

It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that Duminy made his name with memorable performances in five-day games in Perth and Melbourne. Compared to these achievements, his 99 in Bangalore was a film score song beside a classic.

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