Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 06/Jan 08:33

Test cricket: A fantastic game

What a fantastic game of cricket is Test cricket. Yet, a few scribes I have read over the years, since the advent of the T20 version of the game, believe that it is on the way out, as it takes too long for the determination of a result and at other times they find it too boring. However, it is the epitome of the sport of cricket and most cricketers I have met throughout the years have expressed the wish to have played Test cricket or enjoyed it more than any other format. A bowler has to be wise enough to employ certain skills to fool a batsman into choosing the wrong delivery to play defensively to protect his wicket or off which to score. A batsman needs to be aware of which deliveries from the bowler he has to be wary of, in order to defend or consider an attacking stroke. A bowler and batsman have an ongoing battle, the batsman deciding from which deliveries to score and the bowler making it difficult to score. In Test matches (not unlike first-class cricket), which are always of a scheduled two-innings per team length, captains are not limited to restricted field-placing, but can position fieldsmen anywhere within the boundary that they find appropriate to place them. And this is where the strategy comes in, to trap the unsuspecting batsman into playing a false stroke, or in establishing a weak defensive position. The art is contained in the idea that the fielding captain is not restricted to certain positions on the field and could place his fieldsmen anywhere he feels that it is necessary to lure the batsman into a false stroke, subjecting him to dismissal. It is all subject to proper planning, with the intention of removing the opponent’s team for a low score. The fielding captain is not restricted to placing fieldsmen in certain positions on the field (except the one in all cricket that, not more than two fieldsmen are allowed behind square leg on the leg side). Thus, fieldsmen can be placed in strategic positions to trap the batsman by forcing him into error. The pitch is the surface on which the challenge of batsman and bowler takes place; if the pitch is conducive to spin, it gives the slow bowler the edge and if it is very hard and fast with a cushion of grass, the quick bowler has the advantage. That happened in two of the Test matches between Australia and England recently, which finished in two days. In the second one at Melbourne, even the groundstaff were in shock at 20 wickets falling on day one. In the second innings, Australia lost all their wickets and the game, while the Englishmen lost six wickets in getting the winning score. Hence, 36 wickets fell across 142 overs of play. Both the groundsmen and players were in a state of shock. Curator Matt Page, recruited to inject “life” in the wicket, commented after the game that leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket proved excessive. It just goes to show that in a Test match, human error is a powerful factor and many elements can determine the way the pitch plays and influence the outcome of a match. The preparation of a pitch for a five-day Test embraces many factors which adds to the interest of the unfolding of the game. It has a lot to do with the local weather. If it’s sunny and humid or dark and cloudy, depending on which, it would be the length of coverage-time for the wicket. The grass would hold more moisture when dark and cloudy and when sunny, water has to be added in order to give it the necessary volume of wetness required to last five days. A cricket pitch will always require proper batting technique in Tests, regardless. The pitch is the essence of the sport, thus batsmen should be prepared for any eventuality, whatever they may meet in a two inning cricket game. In the T20 game, it’s just one inning, fielding positions are limited and bowlers, whether bowling steadily or badly, are only allowed four overs maximum. The pitch needs insignificant preparation for a match lasting just one day. The crowds attending the first four Tests in Australia were fantastic, where, in the Melbourne Test, there was a record number of 97,000 plus, each of the two days. The drama, the variety and the skill of Test cricket is unparalleled. To each, his own enjoyment and satisfaction. The post Test cricket: A fantastic game appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.