Gripping India-England Series Underlines Urgency To Keep Test Cricket Alive

Forbes

7 hours ago

A typically gray Monday morning in London was aroused by one of the greatest finishes in the 148-year history of Test cricket, the sport's traditional five-day format that feels like a relic to a quieter time but still ensures despite uncertainties over its future.
Naturally a lot of time is invested in a game that lasts the equivalent of a working week. And a lot of that time can feel wasted, many days where you question watching something so tedious and out of touch with the sugar hits of modern life.
But sometimes Test cricket throws up something so gripping that it is unrivalled by any other sport. When there is a tense finish, the intrinsic slowness heightens the excitement and makes every delivery so nerve-jangling that you could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
There is a payoff in Test cricket that trumps its knockoff shorter versions.
And so a riveting five-Test series between England and India at the Oval just had to finish this way. It was delicately poised by the end of day four, with all results possible, and what ensued will never be forgotten.
In front of a tense sold out crowd, many of who were supporting the tourists, India pulled off their smallest margin of victory in Test cricket to deservedly draw the series 2-2.
They won by six runs after workhorse quick Mohammed Siraj - who was inspired by his hero Ronaldo - completed one of the most indefatigable performances seen on a cricket field when he clean bowled Gus Atkinson, who had threatened an improbable late heist for England.
There were also stirring scenes of an incapacitated Chris Woakes bravely coming out to bat at No.11 with his playing attire covering his left arm in a sling due to a dislocated shoulder.
Woakes was likely to bat one-handed and wrong-sided - picture a table tennis player - but did not end up facing a delivery He did grimace on every run to add to the incredible drama.
It was probably the best Test match and series played since the legendary 2005 Ashes, an iconic series that captured Australia and England far beyond traditional cricket fan bases.
The 25-day series ended with 56 minutes of sheer suspense that David Fincher couldn't even concoct from the director's chair.
While Test cricket continues to flourish among cricket's power three - it remains the cornerstone of billion-dollar broadcast deals in Australia and England - the format's future is unclear beyond them.
A working group among the sport's most powerful administrators is being formed to address major issues in cricket, including Test cricket's future.
As I reported last month, representatives from the big three are likely to be part of the working group led by New Zealander Roger Twose. The chiefs from smaller Full Member Zimbabwe and Associate nation Namibia - countries who have hosting duties at the 2027 World Cup - are also on the working group, it is learned.
Twose has already done some of the grunt work having helmed smaller working groups that have looked into thorny issues such as the Future Tour Programme and playing opportunities for smaller countries often shunned by the power trio.
Perhaps the biggest issue facing the working group will be a radical plan to split the 12 Test nations into two divisions. There was a prevailing feeling from administrators at the recent International Cricket Council meetings in Singapore that two divisions is inevitable.
While the nine-team World Test Championship has been a good starting point to add greater context, a league structure that would also add Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan is widely seen as needed.
There are a couple of sticking points. Promotion and relegation is being pushed by smaller nations, and undeniably would add great drama, but the big three nations seemingly are reticent on the prospect of being demoted.
If they aren't in the same division, series between them would continue - given the financial stakes - but outside of the league which would create some chaos.
"(Two divisions) is a smarter way of cramming in more 'big three' matches and justifying it,' a senior administrator told me. "I do actually like two divisions with promotion and relegation, it means there is more interest in the game. But division one has to properly fund division two.
'Every participating team needs to get a decent slug of money to justify the cost of Test cricket. You have to have a viable A-Team and first-class system and that all needs funding.'
A revived Test Match Fund - where the big three would provide financial support to smaller nations - appears to have stalled, it is learned, but should be part of the working group's remit.
Four-day Test cricket, which has been played intermittently since 2017, will also be analyzed with support coming from smaller nations who want it sanctioned for the next WTC cycle. The truncated Test version helps ease the financial strain for those financially-stricken countries struggling to cover the costs of host.
While Test cricket is extremely popular and profitable in the traditional markets of England and Australia, it has diminished in popularity elsewhere where the three-hour T20 format has become the sport's growth engine.
No new nations are expected, with Test cricket unlikely to expand ever again.
'T20 is the thing in the Caribbean, it has helped keep the flame alive for cricket,' Cricket West Indies chief executive Chris Dehring told me. "World cricket is in the balance in terms of where it is going.
"When you use the term cricket, now you don't know whether you're talking about Test cricket or T20s.
'But our biggest investment in the Caribbean is our first-class system. We are still quite optimistic about the future of Test cricket.'