Of fantasy flight andangry croc: Tradition onthewane
DIMINISHING Practice games have thrown up stories and more but they have reduced substantially NEW DELHI:
During a warm-up game against Queensland in the 1990-91 Ashes, David Gower and John Morris snuck out to a nearbyairfieldtoflyaTigerMoth biplane dangerously low above theCarraraOval.Haditnotbeen for a tipoff by one of the pilots, a photographerwouldn’thaverecognised them.
By the time they had touched down, England’s management wasreadytomakeapublicexampleofthem.Gowerwasfined1027 pounds and England, already down 0-2, went on to lose 3-0. In the Wisden Cricket Monthly, David Firth wrote how the incident further robbed England’s chancesofaprobablecomeback. “Thefines should ensurethat no England player in future will even dare to look up from his crossword puzzle while a match is in progress,” Firth wrote.
Apart from the obvious bit aboutgettingacquaintedwiththe conditions,warm-upsandbreaks between Tests also serve as an opportunitytocooltheheels---go angling or hiking and just have fun. Like how a croc scared the daylightsoutofMoeenAlitrying tosnapatthebaitloweredforitin a sanctuary in Townsville.
AndwhentheAshesisaround, can alcohol be very far? Ask Ian Bothamwhohaddecidedonahot Perth afternoon in 1986 that energydrinkswon’tquitequench histhirst.Solargepintsofshandy it was for Beefy.
AnAshescontestDownUnder hasalwaysprovidedmemorable moments not only on the cricket field but also off it. While the mediaglareonTestmatchescan’t bedodged,warm-upswereaway to unwind even while getting a good measure of the conditions and opponents.
Over the years though, especially due to the onslaught of Twenty20s and ODIs, the warm-up games are dwindling. Takethe1994-95Asheswherefive Testswereprecededandpunctuatedby13warm-upgames.Total span of the Tests and warm-up games --- a stunning 105 days. LESSISMORE?
But if you look at the Ashes though,thenumberofwarm-ups hasreducedtofour(seegraphic). The reason though, is understandable. In the 70s and the 80s, there were fewer Test teams. Apart from the Ashes, only the West Indies-England or Australia-West Indies counted as marqueeseriesalthoughlater, IndiaPakistan joined the bandwagon.
But even then there was enough time on hand since ODIs were still a novelty and looked downuponbymany.That’sasea change from the cramped calendarthatwehavenow.Inthepast, Testmatchserieswereeasilyfive or six-match affairs. Now, only theAshesandIndia-Englandare five-Test rubbers.
DEMANDSOFTHEGAME Thegraphicclearlyshowshowin the 80s, England played many warm-ups and spent considerablymoretimeinAustraliaforthe Ashes. One-day games started getting slotted in the mid 80s and the 90s. Still, bythe 90s, the number of warm-up games had reached a peak.
From the 80s till the mid-90s, the schedule of the Ashes normally used to be two Tests at the start, followed bytri-series ODIs andthenthreeTeststowardsthe end until February.
Perth, currently hosting the third Test, used to be the final Test of the Australian summer earlier. In the 80s, Sydney Tests used to have a rest day in the middle. And during the 1986-87 series, the gap between the Boxing Day England's Ashes schedule down under have undergone a tremendous change in the modern
1982/83
1986/87
1990/91 Test and the New Year Test was 13 days! From 2006, the scheduling has changed considerably. ThisAshes,Englandhaveplayed onlythreewarm-upgamesbefore the Brisbane Test. The fourth warm-up game will be held in Perth after the second Test. But considering how long the Ashes used to be even two decades back, the relevance of warm-ups clearly is on the wane.
IN THE PAST, TEST MATCH SERIES WERE EASILY FIVE OR SIXMATCH AFFAIRS. NOW, ONLY THE ASHES AND INDIAENGLAND ARE FIVETEST RUBBERS.
1994/95
5 13
era
1998/99 2002/03 2006/07 2010/11 2013/14 2017/18