Very Very Special

The recently concluded test between India and Australia at Mohali was a classic. It had great individual performances, enough drama and all three results were possible until the final day. The final minutes had no less melodrama than a Bollywood movie and like such movies, we got a happy ending.

VVS played yet another special knock which he seems to capable of producing on demand against Australia, but this post is not about that. I would scarcely add anything new to the accolades so richly heaped on him and his innings. I am also not going to talk about how Laxman now averages 50 in the second innings of a test match, or how he averages 51 batting down at 6 in the order, or why he has only converted 16 of his 62 50+ scores into hundreds.

What I am going to talk about is how test cricket remains alive, despite it being "old", falling viewership and despite only 4 countries who really play cricket at test standard (India, Australia, SA and England), 5 if you count SL and NZ at their home grounds respectively, 6 if Pakistan turns up.

T20 showcases skills. Big hitting, clever flicks into vacant areas, scampered runs, lots of slower/faster balls, doosras, carrom balls, electric fielding. It fun while it lasts, however like having too many tequila shots I'm afraid for younger players who will wake up with bad hangovers someday when they realize that never really became great students of the game.

Test cricket can often be boring but often it is not, it is however rather subtle and often not amenable to immediate enjoyment. This is where a shout has to go to all those people (like my dad) who took young and clueless guys like me to games and explained all the intricacies, it is truly a priceless gift.

The fact that it’s more than just the skills, but also the mental aspect makes it truly a "test". Test cricket pushes players and viewers alike to their very limit and then some. The notion of a draw, I think is also very important to the essence of test cricket. Most other games demand that there be a winner, but that's a simplification that life does not afford and therefore neither should test cricket. There is something romantic about a hard fought draw that artificially forced tie-breakers do not have. Bowl outs might be fun to watch, but give me a final over 1 wicket to take situation any day.

C.L.R James once famously asked "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know”. I'm quite sure he was referring to test cricket here.