AS ONE more scandal rears its ugly head, test cricket is burdened with another, quite unnecessary diversion. With dwindling audiences, all it takes is the acts of a ‘few bad men’ and stains are once again cast on the impeccably white uniforms of those others who enact one of the most fascinating narratives in all sport. The events of the past few days, coupled with a changing audience and mindset, have begun to threaten that the pendulum might sadly swing away from test cricket with all the potency of a Richard Hadlee outswinger.
The extremely limited attention spans of a generation that impudently clicks away anything that seems to be taking up time, has ensured that shorter versions of the game are more in vogue these days. But even considering the undoubted success and popularity of these editions, there are still some nuances which only the genre of test cricket can provide.
These not only illuminate in terms of understanding how groups of people operate together under duress, but also serve as beacons of inspiration when it comes to the ever fascinating subject of human character. Test cricket, I believe hasn’t merely contributed to sport, it has gently nudged the constantly evolving facet of thought.
When the Don inspired a new dawn
Don Bradman was perhaps the greatest cricketer that ever lived. Adjectives such as ‘Bradmenesque’, synonymous with extraordinary performance, are tributes to the impact the man had on general perception. What is perhaps even more fascinating was that the enigma of Bradman triggered one of the great revolutions in strategic thinking in sport.
The Douglas Jardine inspired ‘Bodyline’ tactic, used by the English team during the Ashes series in 1932, was one of the first instances of a specific approach being used to thwart opposition in sport. It also triggered a belief that what transpired on the field could also be influenced by inspired thinking off it. While Jardine encouraged Larwood to pitch it short, strategic planning in sport set itself for a truly long course.
All I need is just a little Patience…
Sang the Guns and Roses a while back, and they well might have been elaborating on one of the prime requisites of test cricket. Involvement with test cricket demands patience, not just from the players involved, but also from the watching audiences. Be it the sheer guile of a bowler plotting a batsman’s downfall, willingly giving a few runs along the way, or the dying craft of a batsman striving to ground out a difficult period when the ball is talking. The patience entailed on the captain’s part as well, to stick with a strategy for a touch longer when evidence seems failing. These layers seem to be diminishing as cricket increasingly assumes homogenized proportions of ‘the fast and the furious’. Though every once a while a magical human effort like Laxman and Dravid holding a rampant Australian attack at bay for an entire day, in the most difficult conditions in Calcutta in 2001, does warm quite everyone’s cockles.
Maybe there will be a time when companies might actually send new recruits to watch five days of test cricket as a lateral method of training in patience, diligence and observation. Perhaps the time has come to no longer be patient about the manner in which patience seems to be disappearing as a virtue.
When a stalemate is not so stale
In today’s world, outcomes seem to be mandatorily digitized. People approach most situations with a win or lose mentality. And yet life is never quite that simple. Test cricket is perhaps one of the few avenues in sport where a third outcome, an interesting draw (or in the rarest of cases, a tie) is possible. Sometimes when both parties give their all, nobody deserves to leave the forum as a loser. At times a stalemate is the most honorable result. The tied test in Chennai in 1986 is a classic case, but there are numerous other examples as well in the history of test cricket.
Life, in business or otherwise, need not always be cast in black or white, it’s the grey area’s that often inspire more progress in terms of thinking of paths ahead. The draw in test cricket is not just an interesting gift to the viewer; it is a clarion call to all thinkers limited by the confines of a dual outcome to look for a third more liberating alternative.
Celebrating the spirit of the game
The phrase ‘it’s just not cricket’ has innate connotations of fair play. Maybe it was coined before the limited over versions of the game. In an era where players don’t walk even when they blatantly have nicked it, managers and captains (across all sport) rarely seem to take defeat sportingly, the mind is cast back to the 1980 Jubilee test in Mumbai. With the game interestingly poised and India probably in the ascendancy, G. R. Viswanath reversed an umpire’s decision to call back Bob Taylor, in a game changing moment. India went on to lose the test, but the incident in burned in memory as a true example of sportsmanship.
Sport began in ancient cultures as a controlled environment in which values could be taught to younger people. But somewhere in the rapid commercialization of the time, the fact that ‘it’s just a game’ has long changed. Today while sport is a lot much more, it is still imperative to never lose sight of the lofty ideals on which it was founded. Because in time, sports might be the only canvas left to convey a fading sense of morals, ethics and fair play.
To conclude, while various factors are contributing to the declining fortunes of test cricket, it is time to look at the challenge anew. Casting its unique traits in a new light and turning around perceived weaknesses as compelling edges might just be what the umpires ordered.
It’s time to take fresh guard.
The writer is a creative thinking trainer and an independent brand consultant. He is the author of the book, ‘The Madness Starts at 9’ and also the patron saint of a footballing movement called Juhu Beach United, that celebrates, ‘the unfit, out of breath working professional of today’.
