Test cricket seems to be forever under the microscope these days and the question always on the lips of most cricket lovers is "Will this format of the game survive?". One-day cricket began to have an impact on the number of spectators being drawn through the gates of the 5 day format many years ago, but it was the introduction of the 20/20 format which perhaps holds the biggest threat.
It doesn't seem all that long ago that Kerry Packer, the Australian media tycoon started the World Series of Cricket back in 1977. Amazing to think this was 36 years ago now - I was only just born but I grew up falling in love with the sport, appreciating that the real test was contested over 5 days. I still even remember players having a rest day in the middle of the contest. Those were the days.
Who could ever forget the 1992 World Cup down under?! Kepler Wessels, my idol at the time, leading the South Africans out in their first tournament after isolation and beating the hosts and favourites by 9 wickets in their opening game. Rather appropriate perhaps that Wessels should be named man of the match after returning to the shores of the country he represented while South Africa was in isolation before returning to his country of birth shortly before these sanctions were lifted. South Africa seemed to cruise through the competition until rain halted their chase in the semi-final against England and only a bizarre ruling meant that they were left with the impossible task of needing 22 runs with one ball required. South Africa's luck unfortunately never changed in any of the following World Cups.
Then came what many described as a cricket circus. 20/20 cricket. It ended up providing an injection of fresh energy to a game in danger of dying out in some parts of the test playing world, not least South Africa and the West Indies, two power houses of the game during the previous century. People were sceptical of the fact that it would ever take off and saw it as a waste of time and something that would just interfere with the tour schedule. "There certainly wouldn't be any room for spin bowlers in such a short format of the game!" WRONG!!! 20/20 cricket provided everything the sport needed. It sold the game to families, people packed the stadiums, spinners play a vital role and perhaps best of all, it developed players' techniques and style in a way which might cause W.G. Grace to turn in his grave today. These skills have been taken in to the longer version of the game and the outcome is much more exciting test cricket due to a higher scoring rate, flamboyant stroke play and more results within the 5 days. The irony I guess is that more club cricketers have played the 20/20 format of the game on a Wednesday evening than any other format longer than the One-day game, long before 20/20 was introduced on the international or county scene.
There is no doubt that stadiums get sold out whether it's the IPL, Big Bash or the Ram Slam. It brings a festive atmosphere to the ground, a family outing and it doesn't take up a whole day. But I have no doubt that Test Cricket is still well and truly alive. Nothing beats a classy hundred scored by the great Jacques Kallis or a fired up Dale Steyn charging in with a breeze behind him and a fearsome look in his eyes as he sends a delivery flying past the chin of a batsman. That tense finish during the last hour on the 5th day when all three results are still possible. We were unfortunate not to witness and be part of history a week ago when South Africa came within 8 runs of chasing down a world record target of 458. They opted for the second best result, playing out for a draw. A decision justified by them winning the next test and in doing so winning the series. This week we saw a record breaking crowd of over 90,000 at the MCG to watch a day's play at the Boxing Day Test!
I think Test cricket is still alive. The crowd still gather in some parts of the world and the quality of cricket draws others to their television sets. It's up to the ICC to ensure proper schedules are drawn and stuck to. There will always remain room for the shortest format, there'll always be an audience too which ought to provide enough revenue to stage the Tests, providing there's a sensible balance.
