Comeback wins hit Test critics for six
A staggering day of action across two continents proves that the sport’s five-day format still has a few overs left in it yet
Afew years ago, an awardwinning film “Death of a Gentleman” drew attention to what appeared to be the steady decline of Test cricket, as it struggled to compete with the popularity of the shorter format of the game.
On Sunday, however, Test match cricket, which has been the pinnacle of the sport since Australia and England first locked horns at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877, showed there is still life in the five-day format yet.
An extraordinary day of twists and turns saw two gripping Test matches in Brisbane and Hyderabad reach nail-biting finales.
They also uncovered two new stars of the sport, both aged 24, in England’s left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and West Indian fast bowler Shamar Joseph.
In Hyderabad, Hartley went from zero to hero, taking 7-62 on his Test debut to help England to a 28-run win over India.
In Brisbane, Joseph, who was working as a security guard a year ago, came back from being helped off the field after being smashed on the toe while batting, to rip through Australia’s much-vaunted batting line-up.
Playing in only his second Test, he took 7-68 as the West Indies won by just eight runs, their first win in Australia since 1997.
“Even though it’s just 1-1, I feel like we won the entire series,” Joseph told reporters.
Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite said victory was the perfect riposte to former Australia fast bowler Rodney Hogg, who had described the West Indies as “pathetic and hopeless”.
“We wanted to show the world we’re not pathetic,” he said.
In recent decades, Test cricket has come under threat from the rise of one-day cricket and, more recently, the emergence of T20 — and even T10 — franchises that have sprung up around the world.
This month, for example, South Africa withheld its top players from a Test tour to New Zealand so that they could play in the more lucrative domestic T20 tournament instead.
The money in T20, especially in the Indian Premier League, is eye-watering — Australia captain Pat Cummins pocketed $2.47 million for just a few weeks’ work after selling his services in the 2024 IPL auction — so it is no surprise that players are attracted.
Fans enjoy the bash and smash, as well as the flashing lights and party atmosphere, while TV execs are attracted by the easier packaging of the shorter game.
For all its bells and whistles, however, T20 lacks the nuances and slow-burning drama of the kind seen in Brisbane and Hyderabad.
England trailed by 190 in the first innings, which would normally make an India win a formality — they had never previously lost a Test on home soil in which they held a firstinnings lead of 100 runs or more.
But, thanks to some fine batting from Ollie Pope, who made 196, England were able to set the home side a target of 231 to win.
‘Always available’
Hartley, whose first ball in Test cricket three days earlier was hit for six, found the length and enough turn to unsettle the batsmen and guide England to an improbable win late on the fourth day.
Ben Stokes described it as “our greatest triumph” since he took over as England captain in 2022.
India and England, along with Australia, are the wealthiest countries in international cricket, which perhaps makes Joseph’s exploits in Brisbane the more significant.
From the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, the West Indies was the finest team in the world. Sadly, decline set in, largely through bad management.
The team in Australia is missing a slew of top names, many of whom had been lured away to play franchise cricket elsewhere.
There were seven uncapped players in the 15-man squad, including Joseph, who had not even played a first-class game for Guyana 12 months ago.
Overwhelmed in the first Test, the West Indies bounced back in real style, with Joseph epitomizing a new spirit that teases the prospect of a return to former glories.
And, perhaps, the best news was what he said after the game, when he was inevitably asked if he would be tempted by the riches of the T20 circuit.
“I will always be here to play Test cricket for the West Indies,” Joseph said with some reverence.
“There will be times when T20 might come around... but I will always be available to play Test cricket for the West Indies, no matter how much money I’m offered.”
There will be times when T20 might come around... but I will always be available to play Test cricket for the West Indies no matter how much money I’m offered.”
Shamar Joseph,
West Indian fast bowler