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So who said test cricket had died? Well, whilst many have been unwilling to go quite that far, the likes of Andy Flower, Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan have all made it clear that they fear for the future of the test format of the game. I myself would join them in this fear. Test cricket, it seems to many cricket fans, is a thoroughly bi-polar affair. The excitement of some tests, such as the recent game between South Africa and Australia, is undeniable, but contrast it with a game where the likes of Alistair Cook and Jonathan Trott plod along to massive scores over two days and those same fans are left somewhat unenthused.
This is where one-day and 20/20 cricket comes in. I do feel it is somewhat ironic that at the end of a 5-day test that ends in a draw everyone is asking the question why and when a one-day international ends in a draw it is one of the most exciting climaxes to any sporting event. However, that is neither here nor there. There are a number of reasons why test cricket, in comparison to its one-day and 20/20 counterparts many believe, is on the decline.
Perhaps the biggest reason for the decline of the test format is the growing influence of the shorter versions of the game. The Cricket World Cup, 20/20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League all receive incredible television coverage and, as a direct result of this, make cricketers much more money than their test careers. This has, in recent times, lead to a number of developments in the sport. The development of one-day and 20/20 specialists, something which fellow writer Manraj Bahra recently discussed, has led to an influx of players who are far more willing to commit to one-day and 20/20 cricket, either internationally or in the IPL, instead of test cricket. Lasith Malinga announced his retirement from international test cricket in April of this year; at the age of 27 this was a particularly high profile case of test cricket being shown the proverbial door. It is fair to say that Malinga’s decision, which he said was based on the “heavy workload” of test cricket, angered many cricket fans, not to mention Cricket Sri Lanka, the ECB’s equivalent. Perhaps the most telling part of Malinga’s case is not his decision to retire from tests itself but rather the ramifications for Sri Lankan test cricket. He is easily their most potent fast bowler and as such will, as has proven to be thus far, be a big miss for them. Moreover, the very fact that one of the best bowlers in the world, and that is in spite of his somewhat odd action, will be missing from the test arena detracts from any test series that Sri Lanka embark on. I know I’d certainly prefer to see him play for Sri Lanka in a test series against England instead of Nuwan Kulasekara and suchlike.
Nonetheless, as has been proven very recently, test cricket has most certainly not lost its ability to excite and, in the case of the game in Cape Town nearly a week ago, shock us. In a game which, at stumps of the first day, looked as though it would be a standard closely fought 5-day event, nobody would’ve predicted the events of day two. The Australians made a solid start to the test scoring 284 in their first innings in large part thanks to Michael Clarke’s majestic 151, I watched much of this innings and it was truly majestic. They then set about skittling the Proteas for 96 at the start of day two putting themselves in complete control. What followed was truly remarkable, South Africa’s bowlers ripped through the Australian top and middle order with only Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon offering any resistance, the Australians finished all-out for 47. The South African’s seized the advantage and scored the 236 required for victory comfortably in the third day. It was easily one of the most remarkable turn-arounds in test history and provided the neutral with no end of excitement. Such was the speed at which the game travelled on day two that Gary Kirsten the South African coach, left when his side were 79-1 and returned in the afternoon when his side were batting again, he asked other support staff if there had been rain whilst he was away to which the staff replied no this is our second innings!
Test cricket may well be dying but it will not, if the game in Cape Town is anything to go by, go quietly into the night.
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