{"id":848,"date":"2016-07-24T11:02:20","date_gmt":"2016-07-24T11:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=848"},"modified":"2026-07-17T13:54:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T13:54:31","slug":"india-australia-cricket-test-match-dharamsala-england-sachin-tendulkar-anil-kumble-ipl-rahul-dravid-vvs-laxman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=848","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m a Cricket White-winger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I<\/span><\/p><\/div>

used to be a fanatical follower of cricket while growing up. There was a time when I could cite the ICC Top 10 Rankings for batsmen and bowlers from memory and spit statistics like Harsha Bhogle on steroids. However, I’m no longer the savant I once was. As the sport has evolved over the years, shorter formats have become more popular than the hallowed Test match, which I blame for my reduced love for the game. In a post-IPL world, claiming Test cricket is your preferred format is akin to saying you love Porcupine Tree at a Mika Singh concert. \n\nFor me, watching a Test match on TV today is like visiting a lovable, elderly grandparent in hospital. It brings to mind the sweet memories of days gone by, but also thrusts the bitter realisation of fast-approaching death in your face. The impending death of Test matches has been discussed ad nauseam by cricketing experts, but nothing drives the point home as fast as hearing laypeople, who only follow T20 and dare to refer to themselves as “fans”, call for the format’s abolition.\n\nBack in the day, there was no Call of Duty or FIFA, so my options for evening recreation were perforce limited to chor-police, hide-and-seek, and langdi taang. But when we could round up a posse of six or seven kids and buy a pack of six rubber balls for 50 bucks, there was only one thing to be done \u2013 draw stumps on a wall with chalk, and prepare for glory. Even with a Playing XI that was only a Playing III, and two hours instead of five whole days, we would attempt to tackle the highest mountain the game had to offer: a Test match, played over two innings.\n\nThe reason the five-day engagement between two sides is called a Test match is because it is the truest test of the teams\u2019 skills. All the variables that make the sport unpredictable and fascinating can be found in Test cricket in their most primal and unadulterated avatars. The pitch becomes as vital a part of the match as either side\u2019s captain by the end of five days. Cricket\u2019s fractious relationship with the weather gets tested to the extreme, as the players taunt the rain gods by playing under open skies for five whole days.\n\nThere is no better symbol for Test cricket\u2019s superiority over other formats than the sporting whites. The classic ensemble of the Test cricketer conjures up memories of a time when cricket truly was a gentleman\u2019s game. The immaculate whites, when compared to the garish, colourful kits of today\u2019s teams, seem angelic in contrast. The all-white kit is also a reminder of a time when the game was all about cricket, cricket, and cricket. There were no cheerleaders, broadcasting rights, team sponsors, and match-fixing scandals. Spectators would cheer simply because a wicket fell or a boundary was struck, not because the latest Bollywood hit blared out on speakers after a feat. In short, the whites are a symbol of a bygone, golden era.\n\n\"Victor_Trumper_Drive_test\n

\n

The reason the five-day engagement between two sides is called a Test match is because it is the truest test of the teams\u2019 skills.<\/p>\n

Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\nThe real reason Test cricket is the purist\u2019s favourite form of the game is that even today, no other form offers such a balanced contest between the batsman and the bowler. Both the ODI and T20 formats heavily favour the batsman because accruing runs is considered more important than losing your wicket. This mindset leads to batsmen throwing their wickets away in pursuit of big shots, and bowlers unimaginatively trying to pitch the ball into the batsmen\u2019s toes to prevent any runs being scored.\n\nTest matches are supposed to be a respite from this bastardisation of the game. Bowlers need to be allowed to bowl creatively, without fear of conceding runs, and batsmen must learn to play actual cricketing strokes, not try and grab boundaries with a forearm smash like Rafael Nadal. When Cheteshwar Pujara broke the record for the longest innings played by an Indian in terms of balls faced, he did not accomplish the feat by going after the Australian bowling attack. Instead, he showed sound game sense and held on to his wicket as long as he could, no matter what they threw at him.\n\nIt\u2019s that brand of tenacity, determination, and talent that makes Test matches the most beautiful spectacle in cricket. Some of the game\u2019s most iconic moments come from this version of the sport: Anil Kumble bowling an interminable spell while his broken jaw<\/a> was held in place with a strip of cloth; Sachin Tendulkar achieving the record for most centuries scored by a single batsman; Rahul Dravid\u2019s and VVS Laxman\u2019s two-day stand against the Aussies in the face of certain defeat.And Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin\u2019s battle in Sydney to deliver a draw for the ages. \n\n

Probably the most depressing omen for Test cricket\u2019s future is the attitude of the West Indies team.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\nThe charm of Test cricket lies in its esoteric nature. It\u2019s an oddity that alienates novices while delighting seasoned viewers. There\u2019s no telling when this very USP will become the game\u2019s Achilles Heel. The popularity of T20 franchise leagues like the IPL and the Big Bash League is another indicator that fans of the game are ready to move on.\n\nProbably the most depressing omen for Test cricket\u2019s future is the attitude of the West Indies team. Once the most dominant force in the world, the Windies Test legacy is in tatters as their best players choose the T20 leagues over representing the national side. The trend seems to be catching on closer to home as well, with certain players choosing to give up leading the Test team in order to prolong their limited overs careers (cough\u2026 Captain Cool\u2026 cough).\n\nWithout the five-day format, cricket faces the danger of becoming as pedestrian a sport as football (yes, I said it). The Gentleman\u2019s Game is made so because of the infinite variations and intricacies found in its longest and best format. Always remember, the IPL might give you the flavour of the season, but Test matches create legends that live forever.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The charm of Test cricket lies in its esoteric nature. It\u2019s an oddity that alienates novices while delighting seasoned viewers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[1268,1499,1523,449,1269,19,397,878,879,1524,1525],"class_list":["post-848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-anil-kumble","tag-australia","tag-cheteshwar-pujara","tag-cricket","tag-england","tag-india","tag-ipl","tag-rahul-dravid","tag-sachin-tendulkar","tag-test-cricket","tag-vvs-laxman"],"yoast_head":"\nI\u2019m a Cricket White-winger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The charm of Test cricket lies in its esoteric nature. 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