When the big guns clash, there should not be fewer than four Tests
SOUTH AFRICA crush New Zealand by innings and 27 runs within three days. The tourists record their third-lowest score, 45, in the entire history of Test cricket. Australia complete a 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka in the New Year’s Test in Sydney.
What does this mean? To me, at least, that Test cricket has become the equivalent of rugby union. The oval-ball game is dominated by the three top Southern Hemisphere teams, with either France or England being competitive at various stages. The remainder of the Six Nations sides, along with Argentina, struggle to consistently challenge New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
Likewise, Test cricket is the playground for the elite. The Proteas, England and Australia are so far ahead of the rest of the Test-playing world that it borders on scary. India sat among them until very recently, but consecutive 4-0 whitewashes away to England and Australia, followed by a historic series win for Alastair Cook’s English side on the subcontinent recently, have pushed the former World No 1 side into the midst of a crisis.
At least, sub-continent rivals Pakistan are a side on the rise, not having lost a Test series at “home” for a number of years. They have also put in good performances on the road recently. So, at best, there are only four teams on the ICC Test table who can consistently compete with each other – and even that depends greatly on how the home team prepare the conditions.
That leaves Sri Lanka, the West Indies, New Zealand and Bangladesh, not to even mention Zimbabwe, purely to make up the numbers until the quartet place a strong emphasis again on trying to improve the status of their Test side.
That is unlikely to happen any time soon, with Sri Lanka setting a precedent by cancelling the Test section of the Proteas’ tour to the sub-tropical island next year. With the West Indies winning the World Twenty20 last year too, the focus in the Caribbean will surely shift even more to the shortest form of the game.
New Zealand simply do not have sufficient numbers playing the game, which is evident from the number of South African expatriates (Grant Elliot, Kruger van Wyk and Neil Wagner) who have recently worn the black cap with the silver fern.
Am I predicting all doom and gloom then for Test cricket? No, that is not my intention. I simply cannot after witnessing some of the most riveting Test cricket in decades last year. It, of course, involved the Proteas which made it even more enjoyable to watch.
The final day at Lord’s was a magnificent advertisement for the purest form of the game, when all three results were still likely heading into the final session.
Faf du Plessis’s epic rearguard effort in Adelaide was in complete contrast in terms of excitement levels, but such is the nature of truly quality Test cricket that each ball he blocked during his marathon stay at the crease was dramatic in its own right.
The ICC Future Tours Pro- gramme determines when teams play each other and where, but there simply has to be a greater focus placed on getting the top-tier Test nations playing each other over a longer period.
“Icon” series were discussed previously, but the time has now come for serious action to be taken in this regard. This is not a means to sideline the remaining Test nations, but rather an opportunity to give the paying cricket spectator better value for his/her money. Australia, England, South Africa, India and Pakistan should not be involved in any bilateral series of fewer
than four Tests.
Anything less and we would be doing an injustice to our “beautiful game”.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
@MartyGuptill (Black Caps opening batsman Martin Guptill): In port Elizabeth now. Just finished a gym session & now looking forward to getting stuck into 2 hard days of training.
WHO TO FOLLOW
@AlviroPetersen – Check up on what the Proteas batsman is getting up to in his home town of Port Elizabeth.
◗ Send us your views – zaahier.adams@inl.co.za