Test's death knell

The obituary of Test cricket has been written time and again, in almost every year since the birth of the One-Day International (ODI) format. Many cricketers and pundits have articulated that something must be done. They would often cry that Test cricket is being pushed towards a slow death – but somehow, Test cricket managed to survive. Nonetheless, its future continues to hang on a long twisted road fraught with beckoning competition from the more engaging ODI and T-20 formats. Especially since the time the latter has entered world cricketing arena, the popularity of traditional Test cricket has diminished to a great extent. Instant cricket as T20 has given fans a new taste of adventure.

Barring in Australia and England, the five-day format is struggling to evoke any interest in other Test-playing countries. While in India, it is venue-specific, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand have displayed selective enthusiasm depending primarily upon the opponent. West Indies and Zimbabwe have almost turned their backs on the longer format; Bangladesh rarely hosts test matches, while no one wants to travel to Pakistan because of its tainted image in assuring security.

Except for big events like the Champions Trophy and World Cup, the popularity of One-Day cricket has also decreased drastically. But ICC did manage to save ODI cricket by bringing noticeable changes to the format. But sadly, they failed to do the same for Test cricket.

The original form of the game, designed as a regal sport played across several days, has self-induced structural problems. Flat or dead pitches, uncompetitive series, reliance on old rivals, fear of innovation, muddled schedules, deplorable incentives and failure to expand have all contributed to bringing Test cricket to its death bed.

The team playing at home always has an edge over the guest country because of familiar conditions. Almost every time a visiting country faces defeat, they cry wolf and blame the pitch for their loss, which to some extent is acceptable. The pitches often are made in a way that plays to the home side's advantage. To ensure a fair game, there should ideally be a separate panel that manages all issues related to pitches. Test cricket will always find it difficult to survive on dead and flat pitches as many matches end in either no result or one-sided scores.

When two teams compete in a one-sided affair, the audiences' interest is naturally worn away. The recently-concluded India-South Africa Test series sets a pristine example. The first match of this Test series that was played under the ICC Test Championship in Visakhapatnam was won by the Indian team by 203 runs. The second match, played in Pune, was won by Team India with a difference of an innings and 137 runs. The third and last match of the series was played in Ranchi, which again India won by an innings and 202 runs. It was clearly a one-sided series without competition – and this reflected well in the deserted stands. None of these three matches was able to pull crowds as from the very first day of every match, it was clear that India was going to win, killing the rush and excitement that fans so dearly apprehend.

Result-oriented pitches could bring new life to the game as it would sharply reduce the sense of boredom and damp. A good surface would ensure exciting moments, great batting and exceptional bowling spells. Or, two countries could choose to go to a neutral venue to play their matches, adding a new dimension to the game. It will push rival teams to come out of their comfort zones and try something different. It may not pull a huge crowd into the stadium, but it will certainly draw more viewers to their television sets.

Additionally, ICC's indifference towards Test cricket could be one of the reasons for its deteriorating condition. While pampering the younger siblings, it appears to have neglected the first child of cricket. And why not? One-day and T-20 are the golden hens, providing a rich basket of financial benefits – sponsorships, TV rights, tickets. Instead of improving the game itself, they are mending ways to earn more money and because of this, Test cricket has often had to bear the brunt of ideas that are not original and also incongruent to its character – for example, the introduction of jerseys with players' name and number on it, which according to a few cricketers looks "ridiculous". The root originality of Test cricket must not be overshadowed while trying against all odds to propel its revival. Instead of applying rules from other formats of cricket, Test must have its own new set of rules while preserving its true essence.

The World Test Championship (WTC) is a right step towards revival, however, it might not be fulfilling. It has just started and how it will impact Test cricket will be known only in the near future. Before that though, Test cricket still needs innovations. Just like in club football, playing the same series home and away can make the format more competitive. Also, like football, an away victory should be accorded with more weight, lending it more value and meaning. Though in WTC, there is one provision under which teams have to play away and home series but that is hardly promising as it is interspersed with long gaps (in some cases, a year).

After witnessing the scarce crowd turnout during the Ranchi Test, Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli laid strong emphasis on having dedicated venues for Test cricket in India. He believes that it will help increase footfall in the stadium, similar to England and Australia where they already have dedicated stadiums for the longer format of the game.

Poor facilities at stadiums, expensive tickets and lack of time are other factors that keep spectators away. The cricket body must also improve the treatment of fans and enhance the overall experience of watching Test cricket. Even newly-elected BCCI president Sourav Ganguly admitted that this is not a simple issue to deal with. To attract a larger crowd, it is important to get other aspects right as well, such as facilities for the fans and proper scheduling. If people are aware from well in advance about upcoming matches, they would be able to plan accordingly – like England that recently released its schedule for Test matches being held between 2020 and 2024.

Another suggestion to improve footfall in recent years was to introduce Day/Night Tests, which thankfully is being fulfilled as India is set to encounter Bangladesh from November 22-26 at Eden Gardens. "It's a good development. Test cricket needs this push. My team and I were bent on it and thanks to Virat also, he agreed," Ganguly said.

Over the years, several recommendations have been made on encouraging spectators' turnout for the five-day format, but all these suggestions are simply minutes of the meeting that need to be put to work by those running the real show. So much more could be done to give a new lease of life to Test cricket and resurrect it to its glory days when fans thronged stadiums for just a glimpse.