Death of the gentlemen's sport by its 'curators'

Being a cricket aficionado I adore test matches. I consider it to be the purest form of the game and one were great cricketers are differentiated from good cricketers. However, of late watching test matches has become an arduous task and it no longer captivates me. With the advent of T20; test cricket seems to be losing its sheen throughout the world. Hastening the decline is the quality of pitches being dished out for test matches across the world. Pitches across the world have gotten increasingly batsman friendly and there is seldom a contest that provides an equitable contest between bat and ball. India which was once hailed as the land of spinners rarely produces a track that offers any kind of assistance to the spinners. The once dreaded wickets in Caribbean have become propitious to the batsmen and are probably one of the best places for batsmen to pile on runs. The pitches in England, New Zealand known for their assistance to medium pacers have gotten flatter too. With more and more games getting predictable and the result almost certain by the end of the third or the fourth day, the excitement in the game is waning.

One of the primary reasons why tracks have gotten increasingly benevolent has to do with the demands of broadcasters who after paying huge sums of money to the cricket boards, are distraught when games get over within three or four days. They face huge financial losses and are increasingly demanding pitches that remain innocuous for over five days.

The lack of a fair contest between bat and ball has afflicted cricket at its grassroots too. Increasingly the motivation to become a bowler amongst the younger crop is fading away and this has had a direct impact on the quality of bowlers coming through.

Having said that, the need of the hour is not tracks where the ball turns square from day two or tracks where bowlers run through line-ups within hours. What we need is tracks that provide an even contest between bat and ball.

The ICC needs to take stock of this situation and device a mechanism similar to the one that addresses the issue of tracks that are deemed too dangerous for the game to go on. Tracks that are deemed too benign to bowl on must also be dealt with in the same vein. This would ensure that curators take sufficient care in preparing quality pitches and thus ensure an equable contest. The clout being enjoyed by broadcasters in deciding the nature of the pitches has to be dealt with strongly. Only when there is a level playing field, the level of uncertainty in the game increases and more people would be fascinated by the game. Test cricket is hailed as the mother of all forms of cricket and sufficient care must be taken to prevent it from losing its glory.