D/N Test: BCCI refusal shows lack of sight

You often hear cricket officials say; “We believe in the primacy of Test cricket.” The question is whether cricket fans believe that occasionally expressed sentiment. It is mighty hard for fans to become believers when within the same week, the BCCI refuses to play a Day/Night Test at the Adelaide Oval and the Australian Board cancels a proposed home series against Bangladesh.

The BCCI’s decision was disappointing, as Adelaide has become the unofficial home of D/N Test cricket. Three years of success under lights at Adelaide Oval was expected to be further enhanced by the presence of a strong Indian team. However, the Indian Board’s refusal to participate further strengthens the opinion of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, who argued; “Always back self-interest because you know it’s a goer.”

No matter what excuse the BCCI offers, it’s hard to accept that this decision was anything other than looking to increase India’s chances of winning a first ever Test series in Australia against a weakened opponent.

Nowhere can I find even a hint of it being in “the best interests of the game.” Just like coloured citizens in parts of Southern America in the early fifties, “the best interests of the game” has taken a back seat on the bus. In an age of T20 leagues, Test cricket needs all the nurturing on offer from the officials if it is to survive this influx. D/N Test cricket in centres where it’s viable is a must if the long form is to have a future in a market which is becoming ever more competitive and where the officials are constantly looking for ways to compress the game.

Apart from the obvious advantage of matches being played at a more appropriate time for fans to either attend or watch on TV, D/N Tests also conjure up intriguing possibilities.

Because of an often dramatic change in conditions, new strategies are likely to evolve for D/N Tests, particularly in relation to selection and batting orders. D/N Tests also provide greater opportunities for bowlers and cricket is a better game when the leather flingers are on an equal footing with the batsmen. And importantly, D/N Tests provide a challenge to a captain’s imagination and anything that achieves that aim is good for cricket.

D/N Tests also provide for the future possibility of four-day games, which could have more appeal among fans and media outlets. Adelaide has been the leading light in the push to give D/N Tests credibility and a match involving India would have done much to enhance that reputation. The BCCI’s decision is shortsighted at best and chock full of self-interest at worst.

As cricket flounders, trying to envisage a viable path forward, the debate often turns to the merit of separate teams for long and short forms of the game. Maybe it’s time to consider whether there should be separate administrative committees handling the long and short forms of the game. What IS needed and has been for a long time, is an independent body to administer the game on a global basis.

It’s no longer acceptable to have individual Boards, driven by self-interest, decide when and where matches will be played. The playing schedule has been overloaded and unworkable for many years and that won’t change while the current system is in place. However, the administrators aren’t about to vote themselves out of power and while the leading players are financially comfortable, they’re not going to start a revolution in search of a better system.