The Infinite loop that will kill Test Cricket

India beat South Africa in just under three day in the first Test on a spin-friendly track

So another test match comes to an end with the home side prevailing in favourable conditions. With this norm becoming ever so more common in International Cricket now, this is the real reason of killing Test Cricket.

Consider this for an example. India are well on their way to a convincing series win over South Africa in the ongoing Freedom Trophy (not discounting South Africa, otherwise would have stated 4-0).

Is Test cricket becoming more predictable?

With South Africa losing their first away series win in 9 years, they would be seriously hurt. When India tour South Africa again later, there is a full possibility that South Africa will try their best to field bouncy, hard and green pitches for the tourists.

While India is potentially a good side in those conditions too, still a series win would be a far-off possibility. And this loop will continue until it crashes the very essence of International Test Cricket.

The other parts of this loop are evident in other parts of the world as well. Pakistan defeated England 2-0 in yet another predictable series in the UAE. England have stooped to sixth in Test rankings which may start the end of their iteration too.

Australia annihilated New Zealand in the conditions that they can play sleepwalking. With the next test match slated to happen at the WACA, the series outcome is preconceived now.

While taking advantage of home conditions has always been a cricket norm, Test cricket survived because curators never overdid home advantage as well as the quality of opposition batsmen to bat in alien conditions.

Is the rise of T20 cricket to blame?

With T20 cricket becoming the face of cricket now, the International Calendar is jam-packed with no time for practice matches for touring sides.More so the negative influence of T20 on patience and mental state of cricketers to prevail in Test cricket.

It’s more an anticipation now of how badly the touring side will lose, with the possibility of an away series win already becoming a forgotten event. This is where Test Cricket, the eternal backbone of Cricket is suffering.

The current generation of Cricketers are lacking the patience to overcome testing moments of tough conditions away from home, this is giving rise to the funny trend of Test specialists in cricket today.

While cricket coaches and support staff are trying their level best to restore sanity to Test Cricket today, their efforts go in vain more so due to the nature of home pitches being prepared today.

It's an irony that the past decade sprung open the discussion of the continuity of Test Cricket, but it may well have been the best of the phases of Test Cricket.

Future tests are slated to be over now inside 3 days, and while that will always provide one the quick thrills and fast action as evident in limited overs cricket, it will kill the soul of Test Cricket, which is still one of the purest forms of international sport.

Possible solutions

Some ruthless measures are required to be taken by the Cricket Administrators to overcome this trend. ODI cricket is in serious doubt of relevance with the rise of T20 cricket, Hence, the quantity and the length of bilateral ODI series needs to be done away with.

The increase in the number of three-day practice matches for touring sides is a mandate. Pitches must be given grading on the same, as seldom do the pitches get rated for practice matches.

The norm of preparing sporting tracks needs to be restored with strict objective explanation of sporting tracks by ICC to the local boards. Innovative suggestions such as that of Steve Waugh to allow tourist captains to decide toss outcome are some that need to be taken seriously.

Teams outside the subcontinent need to be vigilant and expressive in their will to succeed against spin, as much as the subcontinent teams are in handling pace and bounce.

More “relevant” A tours must be organised by the local boards to understand alien conditions. Most of the past A tours have been played on venues that have seldom benefited the tourists such as India’s A tour to South Africa in 2013 playing on flat tracks in Pretoria.

The dynamics of profit making will surely take a momentous hit with these measures, but this is only for the good in the longer run. We need to break out early of the impending infinite loop that would soon engulf Test cricket.