How to save Test Cricket?

Test cricket is dying. Slowly, but surely. Viewers are diminishing, interest of people waning, superstars of the game opting out of the game. A calamity is looming test cricket. If unchecked, it might well be the end of test cricket as we know it.

Test cricket has been there since March 15, 1877 and even after 140 years of evolution, it continues to mystify me with its fragrance and charm. It survived two world wars. It went through all sorts of transformations. It continued to be played even before air-journey was possible. Players used to tour other countries doing weeks of journey for this beguiling love. One thing which remained constant throughout is: Test cricket remained the most magical of all sports. In this ephemeral and crazy world, test cricket is something which makes sense.

Test cricket is the ultimate form of sports. In test cricket, the victory has to be absolute. You have to get 20 wickets of opposition to win a test match. It doesn't happen by fluke. You can't skirt a player or two to win a test match. If someone's got your batting/bowling attack, it will bite you and the only way out is through.

Test cricket is struggling to keep its viewers engaged. As technology progressed, so did the life-styles. People are busier these days and to find time for such a long sports is something which doesn't come easily. Following steps I can think of to save test cricket in this dire situation:

• Day/Night tests: This is certainly an intriguing experiment done by ICC in 2015. Australia vs New Zealand Adelaide 2015 was the first test match played as a day/night test. The experiment was a huge success. Play starting at mid-afternoon. Two hours play before taking 20 minutes tea-break. Play resuming and then another break after 2 hours as dinner break. It all looked very exciting. This way more viewers can attend the game without affecting their work-life. It added a new dimension to test cricket and could prove to be a lifeline which ultimately saved test cricket.
  The biggest issue which remains is the pink ball. Players have complained about the softness of old pink ball and about the fact that it starts moving around laterally too much as night progresses. The toughest time to bat is an hour before the dinner break when the evening and flood-lights take over. It also raises the issue over the traditions of test cricket. Should the statistics of D/N tests be merged with Day tests knowing that they have been under very different circumstances? What about ensuring that the pink ball behaves in the same manner as red? Can both type of test cricket co-exist or should day tests be scrapped in favor of its young infant? So many questions need to be answered before day/night tests take over.
  
• Four day tests: The concept of test matches lasting four days is an exhilarating one. As seen in last decade or so, most of the test matches have hardly gone beyond 4 days and the number of draws is almost negligible. So, instead of stretching the game for 5 days and 3 sessions every day, the idea is to play 2 sessions of 50 overs each for 4 days. Each session should take around 3.5 hours to complete with 45 minutes break for lunch. It will fasten the pace of the game and we will be losing only a total of 50 overs from the 5-day quota. Good teams will still win and because of shortening the duration, the intensity of the game will inflate for sure. Though it has yet not been tried on international level, talks are being floated around for its initiation. I would definitely like to see this as an experiment. It could be combined with day/night tests as well to provide extra spice.
  Issues with this will likely be: tiredness of players. Playing two 50 over sessions for 4 days in a row will be a demanding one. It will take its toil over the mental and physical health. Since the number of overs proposed in a day are 100, flood-lights need to be used in the last hour or so.
• Two-tier test cricket: A lot of talks are going on around the future of test cricket as being a two tiered one. Teams like Sri Lanka and West Indies have slipped to the nadir in their cricket history. They are getting swallowed by the strong teams in 5-day format(home and away both). So, the proposal is to make the test arena two-tiered. Now that Afghanistan and Ireland have been added as test nations, there are total of 12 full members. So, the division could be six teams (based on the ICC test rankings) each playing home and away series with each other in their group over the duration of 4 years and then finally leading to a test championship. Have a look at the years in which test countries got their status: England - 1877, Australia - 1877, South Africa - 1889, West Indies - 1928, New Zealand - 1930, India - 1932, Pakistan - 1952, Sri Lanka - 1982, Zimbabwe - 1992, Bangladesh - 2000, Ireland - 2017, Afghanistan - 2017. As you can see, most of the countries got the test status so so long back.
  It is certainly unfair that some country getting the test status even before the introduction of modern game continues to rip the benefit forever. Cricket is a challenging game and you need to be on the top of the game everyday to ensure your existence. If someone can't cope up with the challenge, it is only upright that they be slided down to division two where they can reinvent themselves and come back stronger. Letting them brutally crushed by the strong teams won't their morale or test cricket any good. Test cricket is one format, where you need to be at the top of your game for a long duration to make your presence felt. 5 days is enormous time to compete against someone you are not upto. By having two-tiered test cricket, number of one-sided games will reduce, viewers will more engaged, no match will be a meaningless one and it will be for the greater good of the game.
   
• Increasing the match fee to 75k $ for each player: Match-fee is like elephant in the room when it comes down to any kind of sports. I think one of the most important factors in decline of test cricket is funding level to the players. Financially adept countries like India, England, Australia can afford to pay huge chunks of money to their players to keep them available for their crucial games, while poor countries like West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan etc. are forced to see the back of their superstars to the T20 leagues and things like Kolpak etc. It is a gloomy situation. ICC can step in and take proper steps for the equitable distribution of money among the board and players across the countries. A standard match fee of 75k$ should be reserved to each player in playing XI irrespective of the country and series.

• Forcing the star players to play: In recent few years, some of the players have started to choose which series to play in. It is disastrous for the health of cricket. It creates uneasiness about unfair treatment in dressing room. Some players get insecure about their positions knowing that they might be dropped once big guns come back. For example: AB DeVilliers opted not to play the longer formats citing reasons over injury and workload. He participated in IPL, CPL last year which aggravated his injury. Though perfectly understandable is the fact that he is father of two children and this is certainly the time for him to earn enough money to have financial security for future, it has caused detrimental effect on test cricket. Undoubtedly, AB is a gifted cricketer and a crowd-puller. Any team with him in it is a force to reckon with. It is disappointing from the game and fan's perspective that he chose to take such a measure. Other examples of star players who have taken a sabbatical from test cricket are Chris Gayle, MS Dhoni etc. It is responsibility of board and the players to reach a mutually agreeable condition under which these players continue to represent their countries in the longest format.

• Encouraging the viewers: Test cricket can't thrive without engaging its viewers. In England and Australia, there is still an enormous craze for test cricket. But, other countries like India, West Indies, Sri Lanka etc. have lost the touch with the viewers. A lot of interesting steps can be taken to continue their participation. For example: Giving free entry to kids in the stadium, autographs of their heroes, lowering the ticket-fee, increasing women participation in the game etc. Fans are the most vital cog in the prospering of test cricket. Test cricket can't blossom without keeping an eye for them.

• Role of ICC: In recent years, ICC has taken a lot of steps in ensuring the uniformity and widespread of the game. Two new test nations have been added, DRS protocol is being used all over the world with the same conditions, rules are being modified to make it a fairer game and so on. ICC must pitch in "Cricke for Olympic" for shorter formats of the game. Test cricket shouldn't be messed up with. It should remain the pinnacle of the sports. MCC and ICC must collaborate to find the right equilibrium over 4-day and day/night tests.

Test cricket is our game's purest heritage. The sacredness of cricket depends on the continued flourishing of test cricket. Test cricket is a real test of character, determination and grit of an individual. It reveals our true-self.

A toast to test cricket which is 140 year old now and may it long forever.

Why do we watch cricket?

After spending an eternity of watching cricket, today I had an epiphany: Why do I watch cricket? Why does anyone watch cricket at all? Why waste the precious time of  our lives on some silly game? The game where someone keeps on hitting a piece of leather with a stick. I mean what kind of game is that? Hitting things with a piece of wood, two players playing and rest others watching, a guy in funny hat making strange gestures. No. No. We need to stop this madness. This doesn't make any sense.

All sports are absurd in some sense. Take Football for example. 22 guys are crazy for one ball to go into some rectangular net. They could have been doing million other things at that time. Like reading and writing letters to their loved ones,  taking a world-tour, eating pizzas etc. But, they would rather spend those hours of life kicking a round thing. what is the fun in that?

Take another example. Tennis. Two guys are hitting a ball back and forth across a netted-wall till one guy dozes off to sleep or decides to sneak a peek to surroundings. Why can't they do something else with their time? Why can't they stop the madness and be sane like rest of us?

Sports has an enormous wide spectrum in things-to-do. In some sports, animals race for their masters, in some sports, people actually run on animals, in some sports, people run for no reason, in some sports, you have to do some stunts. Some sports are played with hands, some with legs, some with both. Some sports are played on land, some in water, some in air. There is no fixed standard. It seems like Sports is idiotic after all.

But, cricket has got to be the oddest of all sports. It involves ridiculous number of rules, idiosyncrasies, inexplicable rules, inconsistent and weirdly long hours and worst of all, two players having fun and rest of them thinking about dinner. So, why do we watch this mindless game at all? Why? Do we choose cricket? Or Does cricket choose us? Let us investigate a little further.

Every time I ask any fellow, "Why do they watch cricket?" They call me a "buffoon". They love the game, but they don't seem to have the answer. But, I reckon there are at least 42 reasons to watch cricket. I can't list them all down here. Nevertheless I will provide a glimpse of possible rationale:

Is it because of excellence?: There is no doubt that cricket admires and appreciates excellence. Some sportspersons are freakishly good at what they do. Same is true in cricket. Batsmen like Bradman, Tendulkar, DeVilliers, Ponting, Lara, Sobers etc. inspire millions and people are often in awe of them. There is nothing more motivational to human soul than watching a fellow being excel at something. When people watch their heroes shine, it stirs them up to be the best in their respective fields. Cricket helps in this.

Because of an outlet from real life?: There is no denying that normal life can be boring and dull as hell sometimes. The ennui and despair of life can be daunting at times, that's for sure. Cricket provides a perfect outlet. People watch cricket to refresh themselves. Adolescent people are often so worried about the future and they succumb to weltschmerz of life. Cricket comes as a perfect rescue. It nourishes the spirit and tells that it ain't all that bad and gloomy.

Is it because it is simulation of real life?: Cricket is as close as it gets to a simulation of real life. Someone once said, "The way you bat, reflects your character as a person". I hardly agreed with any other surmise more than that. Batsman come, play, entertain and leave the field like we do in life. Someone out there is always there to get you out. You have to take calculated risks and keep the scoreboard ticking along. Isn't it a lot like real life? Cricket, however is often better than life. Life often is cruel and unfair. It demands us to take perfect decisions based on incomplete and imperfect information. Cricket will let you decide for yourself and you alone are responsible for the consequences. There is no hiding in cricket. Transparent.

Is it because it is sacred, unadulterated version of things?: Cricket is holy. Cricket is sacred. Cricket is pure. It is gentleman's game for no other reason. Things are so crisp and absolute in cricket. Whatever is out there against you, you just swallow. It irks me a lot that there are corruption, match-fixing etc. cases coming up in cricket. It breaks my heart. But, I am sure things will turn out to be okay in grand scheme. To me, There is no better sight in the world than someone using his feet, coming down the track and flicking the ball off his legs. MAGIC. Silence. Purity. There you go.

Is it because of drama and uncertainty, or Is it because of fun?: Might it be possible that we watch cricket because of enormous drama and uncertainly it provides? Things are not done till they are done. It ain't over, till it is over. I have been riled by a number of teams losing unlosable games and what has pleased me on a number of occasions when some team snatches a win against astronomical odds. Who can forget the drama of 1999 world cup when South Africa couldn't get a run in 4 balls and crashed out of tournament after a tie or when India defeated the mighty Australians after coming back from a follow-on? What about Botham's magic at Headingley, 81? What about T20, 2016 world cup cup final over? Or those heart-stopper super-overs? Very recently, IPL 10 finale?

Cricket: We choose you. No questions asked. Men may come and men may go, but cricket goes on forever. Endlessly. Full of joy. Full of spirit. Come. Join. Rejoice. Celebrate.

To Cricket,
Yours....
Apparently forever,
Pawan.