THERE has been a bit of Test cricket going on in recent times, diametrically opposing styles of Test cricket, I mean. On the one hand, a series which could spell doom and disaster for Test cricket and, on the other, a couple of Test matches that are really an ode to this pristine form of the game.
The series between hosts India and Sri Lanka was not a great advertisement for Test cricket, with bowlers probably thinking why they chose to become bowlers in the first place. And that perhaps being a batsman in Test cricket on such dead wickets is probably the best thing to do. Such matches can really go a long way in ensuring the death of Test cricket.
On the other end of the spectrum, there is this gripping spectacle of Test cricket, with England hanging in for a second draw in the series and Australia clawing back from zilch to clinch the Test against Pakistan. This is Test cricket at its best. The way it is meant to be.
When Graham Onions – England’s last man in Cape Town (and also at Centurion) – was at his adhesive best trying to keep his wicket intact, there was another mindless one-day match going on in Bangladesh, where Dhoni was busy destroying the attack on a dead wicket. I was clear in my mind which match I wanted to watch more.
It is really quite strange that with the slightest hint of green on the wicket, the likes of Dhoni declare the pitch as being ‘unfit’. Why? Because the batsmen cannot hit through the line with impunity. It is also strange that after playing more than 23 overs, it is suddenly discovered that the pitch is unfit. Of course, Lankan captain Sangakarra was complaining but even Dhoni agreed that the pitch was bad. When both captains don’t want to play on lively tracks, the match-referee surely has a problem on his hands.
Now, Australia chose to bat in the second Test against Pakistan and were bowled out for 127. So, should the Sydney wicket be declared unfit for Test cricket? Actually, today’s sub-continental batsmen have been pampered too much with dead tracks that the slightest hint of life on the wicket gives them a nervous breakdown.
There is a senseless ODI series going on in Bangladesh at the moment that nobody is interested in watching. What’s more, there is even a Test series coming up after this, where the Indian batsmen are waiting to take their average (and ratings) higher.
Once, on a cricket tour in Zimbabwe, I went to meet Brian Lara with a prominent Kolkata-based cricket journalist. (India, Zimbabwe and West Indies were involved in an ODI tri-series). It was at the team hotel in Harare. The Kolkata journalist was a good friend of Lara’s and they talked animatedly about many things, while I sat listening nearby.
The journo told Lara that there was a Test series coming up for the Indian team versus Bangladesh and Lara burst out laughing. “So, another couple of Test tons for Sachin in the offing,” said the legendary batsman.
Sachin Tendulkar has chosen to give the ODI tri-series in Bangladesh a miss (that’s great) but again he is all padded up to go to Bangladesh for the Test series. Now, what has Sachin got to gain by playing in this Test series? Just a couple of more Test hundreds, like Lara said. (Incidentally, Sachin’s highest Test score of 248 not out is also against Bangladesh).
Sachin taking on Bangladesh bowlers in a Test match on a Dhaka wicket is a bit like Roger Federer playing against Vishal Uppal in Wimbledon. (Now even Mortaza, the one decent Bangla bowler, is also injured and won’t be playing).
The ICC should think seriously before allowing such crazy Test series? Can this be called Test cricket? Critics will argue but then how will Bangladesh improve in Test cricket?
So, they have to become sacrificial lambs to the likes of Sachin, Sehwag and Dhoni to improve in Test cricket. The ICC should really have a second tier of Test matches. Teams like Ireland, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh should play Test cricket with each other and first understand what five-day cricket is all about. When these teams have had enough of each other, they should then play Test cricket with India-A, Australia-A and the like. This is a long process. It took India 77 years to become the number one Test side in the world (and even then we don’t know how long they will stay number one). So, Bangladesh cannot become a strong Test team in two years.
By simply saying that it is a great opportunity for Bangaldesh cricketers to rub shoulders with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, does not give legitimacy to these so-called Test matches. ICC should try not to belittle and trivialise Test cricket by allowing such matches (we call these matches because you hesitate to call them contests).
Test matches like the ones now going on in South Africa and in Australia make you want to watch the game more and more. Test matches between India and Bangladesh only help in improving the averages and ratings of players of only one team. The ICC should think about politics, votes, money and taking the game to more and more countries (perhaps, T20 is the way of doing it). But they should also think long and hard before granting Test status to the likes of Bangladesh.
