Test cricket is still the best!

Perhaps, it all started with one bored shepherd boy lobbing a pebble or pine-coat at one another who idly batted it back with a handy piece of wood. Gradually, the idle stone-hitting started to develop into an organized sport and with the passage of time it had become a major source of entertainment during the leisure times for almost two centuries and then it transformed into one of the most engaging spectator sport.

Test cricket had arrived and for more than a century it is giving us moments of glory and sorrow and heroes to cherish and its twist and turns has made Test cricket the most widely celebrated form of this game.

This year, we have suddenly come to know that Test cricket is all set to celebrate its 2000^th match. Appropriately enough, England take on India at Lord’s after 1999 matches have been played in countries including one which doesn’t play the highest form, the UAE.

Test cricket has started its journey way back in 1876-77 with traditional rivals Australia and England. For many years these two were the sides to carry the torch of Test cricket. Then countries like New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies started to carry on the legacy of Test cricket. After the partition of the Indian subcontinent, Test cricket saw the emergence of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and when Pakistan broke in 1971, a small country named Bangladesh joined the elite club of Test playing nations. Test cricket has now 10 members.

Its simply is astonishing to think how a game from a mere pass time have turned out to be one of the most professional and competitive sport. Test cricket was almost dead in the 19th century as boredom struck due to lack of results even after playing for 11 days and for which spectators had stepped back to watch Test cricket. Such situations demanded drastic measures and for which one-day cricket was born. Test cricket got pace through one-day cricket and even today both complement each other.

In the first 100 years, since England played Australia in the inaugural Test in 1876-77, there were as many as 803 Test matches. The period saw two World Wars, the Test careers of such as W G Grace and Don Bradman, the birth of one-day internationals, the banning of South Africa for that country’s apartheid policy and The Packer Razzmatazz. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe were yet to make their debut.

If 803 Tests in 100 years is impressive, what followed was even more so. In the next 34 years, there were 1196 Tests, bringing us up to Lord’s. And within this 34 years Test cricket got the touches of modern masters, got the touches of technology and it saw tilts in the balance of World cricket’s powers.

Test cricket has been surprised by watching the passion for the game in the Indian subcontinent, who were taught the game by the British rulers. In terms of passion nad love for this game, the British are still nowhere near the cricket-mad people of subcontinent.

The emergence of T20 cricket is a challenge for the longer-version formats, especially Test cricket. Is Test cricket going to vanish in course of time?  

Why Test cricket is so special?

It takes five days to complete, teams break for lunch and tea and certainly it’s hard to follow Test cricket for five days at present. But despite all these strenuous factors, Test cricket is still the ultimate format of the game. As because, a player’s true character can only be judged by  Test cricket and no other format of the game can gift you the true pleasure of thrilling romance.

 An Ashes clash or a South Africa-England clash or an India-Australia clash ensures a jam-packed stadium for five days and still people enjoy the romance of five-day matches. Cricket followers spends time after time to watch the class of Tendulkar, a cricket purist waits for one classic timing from Tendulkar and a writer waits for the ultimate poetry from Tendulkar in the glorious arena of Test cricket.

Moreover, the players still value the game as Suresh Menon said in one of his article, “More importantly, players still value it. Ask those who will line-up for the 2000th match. Rahul Dravid is the quintessential Test player who adapted to the shorter game to emerge as one of its most successful batsmen. Both teams are full of players who don’t play any other form of the game.”

Test cricket is the perfect platform to build a cricketers character and technique. If a cricketer is well-equipped in playing Test cricket then he is bound to achieve success in any format of the game.

The emergence of Twenty20 cricket and cash-rich Leagues are challenging the existence of Test cricket. Will Test cricket get vanished? I don’t think so. The 2000^th Test match at Lord’s is the perfect example of Test cricket proving the test of times. Still Test cricket has plenty to offer in the upcoming days.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar