Preserving Test Cricket

 

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently took a laudatory step by formulating a Test cricket incentive scheme. It encourages players to turn out in Tests and makes it profitable for them. BCCI is one of the leading cricket authorities in the world, and must be commended for taking this step to promote Test cricket, and in fact retaining its primacy.

For almost four decades there has been chatter that Test cricket is fading into oblivion. It was said that One-day cricket would replace the traditional form. After the introduction and popularity of Twenty20, it is now being said that the new form will push the One-day game into the shadows. What critics fail to realize is that cricket has a wonderful bouquet of Test matches, One-day Internationals and Twenty20, and the key is to maintain a fine balance and enjoy all the formats.

Through 1990, I had written a book entitled ‘Test Cricket: End of the Road?’ arguing that Test cricket would survive the onslaught of the One-day format, and in fact thrive. Test cricket has indeed survived, and there is no sign of it petering out. The recent five-Test series between India and England is a case in point. All the Tests drew good crowds, and the English Barmy Army made its presence felt in all the venues. There was a huge turnaround in the first Test. India were far ahead, then England made a stirring comeback, and clinched it. India had their backs to the wall in the fourth Test, but fought back to pull off an exciting win.

In the other Tests too there were ebbs and flows, ups and downs. The battle was closer than what the 4-1 score-line suggests. This is what makes Test matches so fascinating and unpredictable. It is, then, heartening that a five-Test series will be played between Australia and India during the 2024-25 season, for the first time since 1991-92 involving the two teams. Cricket authorities are finally understanding the significance of Test matches.

This is what brings one to the World Test Championship (WTC). To have one final to decide such a prestigious event is a travesty of justice. It should be a league without a final. It is also questionable to always hold the final in England. It is obviously because the final comes up in the northern summer coinciding with the English season, and off-season for the other countries. It another reason why a final is redundant.   

Secondly, WTC should be a four-year cycle. A two-year cycle devalues the importance of the championship. When the Olympics are held every four years, when the football World Cup is held every four years, indeed when the One-day cricket World Cup is held every four years, why is the WTC held every two years? Just as the International Cricket Council (ICC) rectified the flawed original points system for WTC, it should roll out a four-year WTC.

In three years, Test cricket will celebrate its 150^th anniversary. A four-year cycle of WTC culminating in that year of 2027 would be a wonderful way to commemorate it.

The thought process of the BCCI to avoid matches during the severe winter in north India is a good one. In the last 25 years, fog has become a big disruptor. Ideally, the north should host the game from mid-October to mid-December, and from mid-February to mid-March, before the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks in. The rest of the country offers perfect weather for cricket between mid-December and mid-February. India is blessed to have diverse weather conditions. It is a good idea to optimize it to the benefit of cricket.