If there is one thing I have learnt in the last month or so is that Test Cricket is both feasible and important to the survival of the sport. A test match is designed to allow for a contest that swings between both teams and where the conditions of day 1 are remarkably different from those on day 5. In the end a test match should examine every aspect of a player's technique, mental and physical, and this is far more entertaining and inspiring than a 20 over slog fest. This is why traditionalists talk of the 'pure' form of the game.
If test matches provide a reasonably balanced battle between bat&ball then people will and do come to watch. The recent tests in England were wonderful examples of test cricket near its best with steady-to-very good crowds at the various venues. Even the Australia/Pakistan series was well attended. However on the other side of the world India and Sri Lanka played on a pitch so flat that by Tea on day 1 my blind grandmother could tell there wouldn't be a result. With so many pitches like this in the subcontinent it is easy to see how the myth about poor attendence at test cricket came about. Tests in New Zealand against Australia and England witnessed packed grounds over the last few seasons and plenty of interest in the more even contests provided by Pakistan and the West Indies tours.
The boring draws in Asia do not deserve the name Test Match and should not be mistaken as such. If test cricket is left to become such, then it will die out very quickly. The consequence of that will be the kind of appalling technique on show last night from an under strength Indian team playing on a pitch that wasn't as flat as usual. Without test cricket the sport is doomed to the brief entertainment of 2020 because neither team will have the developed talent to survive for any longer than that. The recent success of proper test cricket (not the villain masquerading as it in Sri Lanka recently) suggests that 2020 dominance at the expense of cricket's purest form is not inevitable
NEWS
- New Zealand’s tour of Bangladesh will now be split into two series: 5 ODIs this October and 2 tests in April next year (after the World Cup)
- The ICC nominations for its awards have been released and initially did not include either an Englishman or a Pakistani much to the surprise of those of us who remembered that Swann and Asif were the leading wicket takers for the period in question. Swann was hastily included the following day. I suppose, what can you expect from a selection panel that included Matthew Hayden
- Geoffrey Boycott, in answer to a fine question (i.e. mine) on his radio show, suggests that McCullum’s dropping of the wicket keeping gloves is a risky move. The main issue being that a keeper is able to bat more freely knowing that he contributes in another way and giving that up will put extra pressure on him to score runs. He used the example of Clyde Walcott (WI 1948-1960) who gave up the gloves after 15 tests, although this was due to injury of the back (he was 6ft 2ins) where as McCullum has cited knee problems and a waining enthusiasm for the job.
Follow this link to hear the radio show in question
RECENT RESULTS
- PAK won at The Oval in a thrilling test match and now will look to win at Lords this week to draw the series
- SRL have moved into the final of their ODI tri-series against NZ and IND after beating both teams. The final will be this weekend
ARTICLE OF INTEREST
http://www.cricinfo.com/page2/content/story/470606.html
Yorkshire ban twitter! An amusing piece from a few weeks back that is even funnier now that the ECB is seriously considering banning their players (in their 2010/11 contract) from 'tweeting' while on tour
Upon hearing this news I immediately created a Twitter account entitled ENGcricketteam and I plan to provide ridiculous updates during their matches for the next year or so (to simulate what the players themselves might say). Look for links on my blog each week to this account like this:
http://twitter.com/engcricketteam
Well that's it from here and I hope you join me again
It's good bye for now
Nicely done getting your question in there. A friend and I were having this same discussion just last week.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to have an opinion yet as we are yet to see him try for it. But a risk it is that is for sure.
Then again (in my opinion) the NZ selectors have tended to hold on to players for longer than they should. E.G Craig McMillan. So as long as McCullum has a stellar innings once a year then he should be fine