17 March,2022 07:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Ian Chappell
Representational Image. Pic Courtesy/iStock
The last thing the five-day game wants is benign pitches, large first innings scores or distinctly uneven matches. The pitch in Rawalpindi for the first Test between Pakistan and Australia was described by former skipper Steve Smith as, "Dead and benign."
A paltry 14 wickets were claimed by bowlers in five days of thankless toil which fully vindicated Smith's assessment. The match was concerning and not a great advertisement for Australia's first Pakistani Test encounter in 24 years.
Test cricket is not a statistical exercise and most games should result in a decent contest between bat and ball. The main task for administrators is to ensure the laws maintain a scales-like-balance between bat and ball.
There's basically only one reason to play longer games - the participants need to seek victory from the first ball. If one team eventually realises it can't achieve a win, it's acceptable to fight for a draw.
Some exciting drawn Tests over the years have resulted in the final few overs being a pitched battle. I'm not one who believes the home side should produce pitches that help gain a contrived result. The best pitches are prepared by groundsmen without any outside interference and then it's up to the teams to provide a decent contest. No matter the standard of pitch, NO TEAM is guaranteed to win the toss.
The current trend of home town success could be reduced if Test cricket was more competitive. The number of hard fought Test matches is in question, partly because the ICC wrongfully burdened some teams with an unearned reward. The list of teams obtaining Test status requires a significant overhaul, preferably resulting in two divisions with the number of top tier teams being culled.
In addition to having a chance of victory, all qualified teams should maintain an acceptable standard, while their infrastructure needs to be of a competent level. The future tours schedule has to reflect balance and competitiveness, and hopefully this leads to an even more worthwhile World Test Championship competition. Complaints about pitch conditions can be a red herring. In the case of India the team are competitive in all regions and while their pitches do encourage good spinners, they also provide results.
Playing good spin bowling well shouldn't be a foreign art. If a number of teams played spin bowling better then they'd be more competitive in India and the pitches wouldn't prove such a headache.
It's also disturbing to witness how the slow bowling standard in many countries has slipped. The Test match mentality should simply be a matter of either seeking wickets or scoring runs. A lot of team thinking has transferred from producing good spin bowlers to now desperately seeking reverse swing. This has resulted in some moderate trundlers being selected in Tests on the basis that they might swing the old ball at some point in the match.
Test teams should try to select well-balanced sides and ideally that includes good swing and wrist-spin bowling as both are attacking weapons. Both forms need encouragement as they can result in either wickets falling or runs flowing. Both aspects are an enjoyable part of the longer game.
To achieve this, would require the coaching philosophy on spin bowling - both how to produce it and how to play the art - to adopt a more attacking role.
If the reward for strong captains is a team of competitors and a suitable surface to play on, a Test match can be an enthralling contest. This should be the aim of administrators world-wide and if they are serious about the format's retention then Test cricket needs encouraging.
A Test match is fulfilling if it's competitive and played well. Players of the 21st century deserve an opportunity to enjoy the thrill of participating but that will require serious thought to reducing the periods of boredom in the format.
