BackOf Sobers and Test cricket
Will the first ever day-night Test match give the five-day format the kiss of life?
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At a function in his honour in Mumbai on 22 November, Garry Sobers, arguably the greatest cricketer in the history of the game, reiterated the primacy of the five-day format in the sport.
“Test cricket is the ultimate test for any player, and we should do the utmost to preserve it,’’ said Sobers. For those who have followed his views on this matter, this was actually a fervent plea wrapped in a statement made matter-of-factly.
The 79-year-old had been flown down from Barbados to promote a film, The Man Who Knew Infinity, on India’s most renowned mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The film stars, among others, Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel.
For those wondering about the common ground between Ramanujan and Sobers, or mathematics and cricket, it was in the nature and actualization of genius, as explained by the organizers.
This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. The manner in which these two prodigious talents overcame hardships to become the foremost exponents in their respective fields creates a strong if unusual connection.
I reckon Sobers’ lament about Test cricket was meant particularly in the context of the West Indies—which have fallen on hard times particularly where Test cricket is concerned—they languish at No.8, just above Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Indeed, so dramatic has been the decline, and so apparently uncaring are some of the top players, that Sobers, who was in Sri Lanka recently, shed tears in public when the future of the five-day format in the Caribbean was discussed.
The sharp erosion in the wonderful legacy of West Indies cricket would certainly hurt players like Sobers, whose flair and brilliance won the admiration of the world as well as matches with a high degree of consistency.
For almost half a century between the early 1940s to the early 1990s, the West Indies were among the top three Test sides in the game: Indeed, for almost two decades from the mid-1970s, they were invincible, with Sobers himself being the most magnificent exponent of the “Caribbean style" of cricket. Why West Indies should have declined so rapidly and steeply would make for a major study. Among the several factors touted are poor administration, long-standing conflicts between players and officials, inter-island rivalry (only in cricket do the several former British colonies play as one team), and a sharp drop in interest in the five-day format among youngsters.
All these are contributory factors, but none more so than the loss of pride—and hence the pursuit of excellence—in players emerging from the West Indies in the past quarter of a century. This has hurt deeply former players like Sobers, Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Michael Holding.
The advent of Twenty20 (T20) leagues has made the diffidence of young West Indies players to Test cricket more pronounced, apart from leading to increased conflicts between players and administrators. Some of the more accomplished West Indies players like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo have either given up on or been left out of the Test side.
The blame game continues, and so the decline in West Indies’ Test prowess. Sobers minces no words in saying that T20 cricket, however lucrative, is essentially entertainment, not cricket as he knows it.
“Change is inevitable, we must all accept it,’’ he said. “But we must also care for the original format which demands so much of a player’s technique, temperament and character. No other format is a adequate substitute for Test cricket.’’
But it is not only in the West Indies that Test cricket is under threat. Crowds seem to be diminishing everywhere. The recent England-Pakistan series was played to empty stands in the United Arab Emirates. It was hardly any better in the first Test between India and South Africa at Mohali.
The second Test at Bengaluru, which was also A.B. de Villiers’ 100th, saw a large turnout, but sadly the match was limited to just one day because of rain. Fact is that apart from the Ashes contests, Test cricket is generally not finding spectator support.
Which is why this week is important in the history of cricket when the first ever day-night Test match—and played with a pink ball, no less—plays out in Adelaide beginning Friday.
Throughout cricket history, Test matches have been protected with puritanical zeal. Any suggestion to innovate in this format—beyond some changes in laws like restricting bouncers to only two in an over—was considered anathema.
But after years of deliberation about the pros and cons, the International Cricket Council decided it can’t wait any longer and gave the go-ahead for day-night Tests. Will this give the five-day format the kiss of life?
Ayaz Memon is a senior columnist who writes on sports and other matters.
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