Six reasons why Tests are much better than limited overs cricket

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely that of the authors and do not reflect the views of SportsKeeda.

Muttiah Muralitharan was once asked if the growing popularity of T20s would mark the end of Test cricket. The world record holder for maximum number of wickets immediately responded by saying that the emergence of T20s could indeed hamper the growth of ODI cricket, whereas the longer version would still survive. He was probably right, because Test cricket, in its every sense, is unique compared to the shorter versions of the game. Or perhaps, just like any other cricketer, the former Sri Lankan off-spinner also wanted the five day format to subsist amidst the gaining popularity of T20s. His answer sounded more like a wish than a prediction.

If you take an outsider’s perspective, both ODIs and T20s provide instant entertainment for them, where the results are known within a few hours time. For cricketers though, the five day game is the ultimate Test of their abilities. All aspiring cricketers await a chance to make their debut in Test cricket. Playing in the longer version of the game means a lot to them, which also earns them prestige and well deserved praise. It is like how you differentiate the Oscar film festival from the Cannes film festival. For the movie buffs, Academy awards are the ultimate recognition, whereas for the film fraternities, the quality remains with Cannes.

Likewise in cricket, if limited overs internationals are meant for the delectation of the masses, then five day formats are meant for the knowledgeable connoisseurs, plus, of course, the cricketers. Even otherwise, Test cricket is something which has to be safeguarded and has to be played more often, as compared to the other formats.

Here are the six reasons as to why Test cricket is by far better than the rest.

1. Something is there for the bowlers all the time:

The shorter versions of the game are tailor-made for the batsmen. Since normal cricket lovers have developed the penchant to see the balls sail over the boundary ropes always, which provide them ample entertainment, the limited overs format (50s and 20s) were created. The hapless bowlers – even best of the lot – are being destroyed as a result. Because of flat tracks, fielding restrictions and limitation of freedom, ODIs and T20 offer little chance for the bowlers to showcase their talent. Only the maximum of ten and four overs are allowed to be bowled by a bowler respectively in ODIs and T20s, whereas no such restriction is imposed in Test match cricket. It is not just the skills of a bowler which earn him wickets in the shorter versions of the game. On the other hand, most of the wickets are taken by bowlers due to the hastiness of the batsmen. In Test cricket though, the bowlers are allowed to bowl any number of overs, at the discretion of the fielding captains. While anything down the leg side is ruled as a wide in limited overs formats, there is no such ruling in Tests. The ICC has been a bit liberal in case of bowling bouncers too, as compared to the other two formats.

While the major part of dismissals in ODIs and T20s occur through mistakes, like “when you miss – I hit”, leading edges, slog sweeps, hitting against the spin, the good balls do the trick more often than not in the longer version.

2. Ball vs bat contests:

In limited overs format, even good balls get thrashed by the batsmen for boundaries and at times doing so – they get out. As far as Test matches are concerned, the good balls are treated with respect. The bowlers try all possible methods to get a batsman out, whereas the latter tries all possible means to deny his wicket to the opposition. The contests between a great fast bowler and the world’s premier batsman have always been worth watching in Test cricket. In ODIs and T20, such contests can rarely be viewed, as most of the times, even a lower order batsman can unleash a major onslaught on world class fast bowlers.

During India’s tour of Australia, when the Indians were subjected to chin music by the Aussie pace attack, it was only Sachin Tendulkar, true to his credibility as one of world’s leading batsmen, who could withstand the fiery spells aimed at him. There was a time when the Little Master took the attack to Glenn McGrath, punishing him for three consecutive boundaries. Seeing the assault inflicted upon his premium fast bowler, Steve Waugh, the then Baggy Green captain, momentarily removed the “Pigeon” from the attack.

I could vividly remember McGrath asking for one more chance to have a go at the Mumbai batting legend, although the request was respectfully turned down by his captain. Till then, the New South Wales bowler had a firm grip on the match situation. He was so brutally demolished in a couple of overs by the master blaster that the captain had no chance but to force a bowling change. That was the sort of competition I was referring to, where a bowler kept a batsman on the defensive only for him to choose to use the long handle to perfection and break the shackles.

You cannot find such intriguing contests on a regular basis in the shorter version of the game. The very fact that cricket is known as the contest between the bat and the ball rules out any possibility of limited overs games being called the real deal.

3. Any type of result is possible; even drawn matches are interesting:

In ODIs, only three results are possible, unless of course a particular match gets abandoned due to natural causes. Such a stalemate is normally known as a “No result.” In case of Tests, you can include “draw” as an additional result, which can be expected. “A draw can occur either due to natural causes like rain, or may be due to the caliber of the batsmen who can preserve their wickets till the time the fifth day’s play gets over.” Just like a win or a loss or for that matter a tie, even draws make an interesting reading in Test matches.

At Eden Park, Auckland, in one of the Tests against England, New Zealand’s No.11 batsman, Danny Morrison, kept on hanging with Nathan Astle for two and a half hours to deny the visitors a well deserved victory. Similarly, South Africa’s best batsman of the 90′s, Daryll Cullinan, gave a spirited fight back, playing alongside the team’s tail-enders to force a draw against India in the Johannesburg Test in 1997. It is never easy to fight till the last when the odds are stacked against you. That is the beauty of Test cricket, where the team which is looking down the barrel can show some sort of resistance, sneaking a draw by battling out quality fast bowlers and spinners purely by the art of defending and leaving.

4. Frequent fluctuations:

Every day of a Test match is divided into three sessions of two hours each. The first session may be dominated by the bowlers and the next session may be dominated by the batsmen. And the third session may go in favour of each team or both. Even if that is not the case, each day can spring a surprise or two by way of frequent fluctuations in the course of the game. One can never easily predict what might happen the next day. The 376-run partnership between V.V.S.Laxman and Rahul Dravid at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2001 was one of those instances which popped up from nowhere when India was reeling the previous day. Fresh days and fresh sessions have the capacity to paint a different picture altogether. Assuming both the overnight batsmen at the crease are our favourites, every bit of a wait from thereon till the next day raises our anxiety, which should be counted as more thrilling than a last ball six in an ODI. Till the fifth day – if the matches go thus far – our hopes never get tarnished, and that is what frequent fluctuations in Test matches bring to us.

5. Only genuinely talented players can flourish in Test cricket:

In the shorter versions of the game, even half talented individuals can whack the bowling, adding runs on to the board. Similarly, even a part timer can get wickets and perhaps even do a hat trick. All the hat tricks in the IPL so far have been from part timers only. The lower order batsmen who enter the crease are always in the urgency of accumulating the flow of runs. It is always a “do or die” situation. So no one can assess the real talent of the players in limited overs games. Only when they enter the Test arena do we come to know about their real talent.

Even lower order batsmen are expected to exhibit their character in Tests. They need to show a bit of responsibility by staying at the crease, not throwing their wickets away. Not all the batsmen can thrive under such a scenario. Only players with genuine batting abilities would be able to withstand and score some runs for their team. Likewise, part timers are not widely used in Test matches because the batsmen may not only score runs off them, but also may easily shield their own wickets without much effort.

Unless you are a real bowler who can swing the ball or perhaps create something out of the pitch, you can never get any purchase at all. You need to be a genuine spinner or a fast bowler to target your opposition batsmen. The part timers are normally used in Test cricket only if the new ball is due in an over or two. Otherwise, no fielding captain can risk using them. Conversely, in the urgency to score more, even the best batsmen in the world get themselves out in ODIs, and the same batsmen – when they play in Tests – are able to give their averages a big boost. So, on the whole, the real talent can be figured out only by seeing the performances of the players in the five day format.

6. Application of mind:

The instant versions of the game are purely played upon instinct rather than application of mind. In Test match cricket, the bowlers have enough time to decide on where to bowl and what to bowl, and similarly as far as the batsmen are concerned, they can decide on what to play and what to leave. Also, the captain can arrive at a better field setting based on the way things are moving. Test match cricket will be purely a cat and mouse game if both the batting and fielding teams start to do well. Mind games have an important role to play in Test match cricket. In limited overs formats, the players do not have so much luxury to conceive an idea and act.

Sadly, the formats which penetrated into the game just as an entertainment have been allowed to dominate the game all these years. The nature of cricket itself is such that only the five day game can do justice to it. The kind of importance countries like England and Australia are giving to Test cricket is not being given by other countries. Unless the viewers understand the nuances and intricacies of the game, they will never come even close to embellishing Test cricket.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely that of the authors and do not reflect the views of SportsKeeda.