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The saviors of Test Cricket

by Homer

A near empty Centurion. A more than half empty WACA. 385 runs for 8 wickets at the Centurion.-  in the fifth session of the Test match. 339 runs scored for the loss of 3 wickets on Day 1 at the WACA. 395 runs for the loss of  6 wickets on Day 2 of the WACA.

The very antithesis of what can be found on the subcontinent.. To quote Ricky Ponting

This is my concern for Test cricket on the subcontinent in particular, where there can be some real batathons.
And lets not even mention the crowds, so abysmal on the sub continent but...

Test Cricket has been saved.. Hallelujah!

15 comments:

straight point said...

the end of day comments at cricinfo saved my day and test cricket...

"What about that for a day! All up 395 runs for the day, including 102 from just 72 balls from Chris Gayle including a massive six (one of six) onto the roof of the Lillee/Marsh Stand end. A great day's cricket - honours even I suspect. Before I sign off, Peter English's bulletin is waiting to be read, and so are the Plays of the Day from Brydon Coverdale, our man at the ground. Join myself and Binoy for more coverage of this Test match tomorrow. "

Homer said...

Of course it is a great day's cricket SP. For starters, it is a Test not being played on the sub continent. Then, it is being played on the "fastest" wicket in Australia ( and if you question me on this, I will quote you Suresh Menon

In recent years, Indian cricket has not taken kindly to outsiders pointing out a home truth or two. Those like Geoff Boycott, who, knowing which side his bread is buttered on sing its praises indiscriminately, have been received warmly. If Ponting’s concern is not taken seriously, he might well finish as the last of the great Test players.

Cheers,

achettup said...

Ah, but Centurion has uneven bounce, the very hallmark of an excellent test match pitch and only a learned groundman could have come up with such a beauty to save cricket and the bowlers. As incredibly boring as England continue to be since their last sleep-inducing test series, magically the test connoisseurs have awoken with delight to witness a true test match.
SP, that cricinfo quote really does sum it up. Its no wonder I've started going elsewhere to read about the game, namely blogs. If I remember their commentary at the end of the first ODI between Ind and SL, the guy called it a substandard pitch for international cricket. Now lets all go back and look at what they said for the Aus-SA game at the Wanderers. Iirc, the headline on cricinfo that day was "South Africa Win The Greatest Game"
With double standards like that, who needs Conn & Co to talk about biased reporting.

Homer said...

Ach,

David Gower called the Centurion pitch turgid :).

And remember the laments of how so few Indians showed up to witness Sachin break Lara's Test runs record? Makhaya Ntini becomes the first black South African cricketer to play in 100 Tests, check out the number of people who showed up!

Cheers,

Vim said...

I don't think the fans necessarily swallow the junk fed them by the British media or the Oz media for that matter. We all have eyes and can see for ourselves.

I agree about cricinfo, I find blogs far more informative. The standard of match analysis on cricinfo can be very poor.

And I think it is a very English-centric site. I feel as though it is written directly by the MCC at times.

Homer said...

Vim,

I beg to differ.. Some fans may be more discerning than others, but for the most part, when the standard narrative is that poor crowds and dead wickets herald the death of test cricket and this happens almost exclusively on the sub continent and is repeated ad nauseum, it becomes accepted wisdom.

Cheers,

Vim said...

People who actually watch cricket can make up their own minds though.

The bleating from the British press, which mostly smacks of fear of change, is taken with a grain of salt at best and rubbished by most thoughtful observers of the sport that I interact with.

If there is a problem, it is with the type of 'fans' who only ever notice what their own team does and so have no basis for realistic judgement.

These type of fans can't influence what the organizational bodies of cricket do, all they can do is annoy other fans. Getting all wound up on forums and spouting bile means nothing in the long run.

Homer said...

Vim,

Fans are influenced by what they hear and what they read.If every pundit is singing from the same hymm sheet, how many fans are going to go against convention?

And the less said about the organizational bodies of Cricket, starting with the ICC, the better!

Cheers,

Thiru Cumaran said...

Actually, I find the comments that people in India aren't watching tests anymore a really stupid one! OK, the grounds are not as full as what you generally get in Australia, but it's not 'empty', as many 'pundits' say it is...

I've been to at least one test match in every test series played since 2007 in SL and you generally won't find as good a crowd as you get in Indian stadiums unless it's the school holidays or if it's on the weekends.

The best thing to do would be to not read such nonsense...

Mahek said...

I fell asleep watching the Centurion test last night. Swann's bowling was the only silver lining in England's bowling performance.

Another that thing only happens in the subcontinent: Delays due to movement behind the sight screen. Oh wait, there was a pretty long delay at Perth. Can I get a HALLELUJAH!!!

Rohit said...

This was exactly what came to my mind when I first saw the scorecard. A patched up WI at 214/2...against an excellent bowling attack on the holy grail of fast bowlers!
I must say I did not necessarily agree that we've been unfairly targeted initially, dismissing the complaints of partiality as petulant jingoism. This however, is just taking it a little too far. I'm disappointed my cricinfo myself.

Homer said...

CT,

It is hard to disregard such nonsense when it stares you in the face... Exhibit A - Cricinfo!

Cheers,

Homer said...

Mahek,

Then, according to the wisdom of the great, wise Mathew Hayden, Perth must be in the Third World!

Cheers,

Homer said...

Rohit,

Complaints of partiality dont stick unless there is a pattern to it. You cannot take an isolated incident and create a narrative out of it. Push it too far and the joke is on you.

In this era of information freedom, it is very easy to be found out.

However, there has been a clear pattern, over a period of time, where somehow if the wicket spun in India, it was a bad thing but if the wicket showed exaggerated seam movement in England, thats what a good cricket wicket is all about!

Cheers,

Thiru Cumaran said...

Homer, I, too, never understood why spinning pitches are considered bad...the pitch at the Oval in the 5th Ashes test was a monstrosity, if you consider their over-the-top comments about decent spinning pitches in India...