Six reasons why Tests are much better than limited overs cricket

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.