Today, to be able to say you are a Test match fan requires the kind of courage that was needed a decade ago to articulate an alternate sexual preference.But then when a purist like me who derives his spirituality from cricket, from Test Cricket, there is very little you get following T20 cricket. 3 years back I wrote a blog with the same title. At that time I was new to T20 Cricket. But 3 years down the line I have seen enough T20 cricket and here are the reasons I do not like about T20 Cricket.
Uneven Contests between Bat and Ball
A batsman is considered as great when he scores his runs in tough conditions against good bowling attack. Why is Sir Don Bradman considered to be arguably the best batsman world has seen. He scored his runs in the worst of conditions- pitches were uncovered then. He had to face bodyline attack. He stood there where others would have left. Ask Sachin about his favorite 100 in any form of Cricket and he will tell you that he rates his 100 against Australia at Perth in 1992 as his favorite. Why? Setting: Perth,'92… World’s fastest and most bouncy track of the world .. Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Mike Whitney and Paul Reiffel formed the attack. Sachin scored 114. Aussies bowed to the master and his craftsmanship.
T20 Cricket is all about bat. In a country like India, we believe that if the majority likes it, it should be right. No wonder we have leaders like Mayawati and leagues like the IPL. Mindless hitting though and across the line makes people happy. Its like tying a tiger and then throwing pebbles at it. Cricket is at its best when both the bat and the ball have equal chance to win. T20 Cricket fails to provide that.
Character of the player is never tested in T20 Cricket
A character of a player is tested over a period of time when he is down. The T20 game gets over in a little more than 3 hours. How can it “test” the character of a player. 3 years of T20 Cricket and do u remember even one inning that you remember that a player’s character was revealed.
Game of Chance and not of ability
Lets see this Statistics. Bangladesh won 3 tests so far out of 66 tests. One against Zimbabwe and the other two against depleted West Indies team when they had no international player. Compare it with their T20 record where they have won 3 of the 14 T20 matches they have played. A 20% record in the T20 against a 4% record in tests. Clearly you can be lucky on the day and win T20 matches. Tests are won by ability and not chance. While T20 is like gambling, Test Cricket is a real Sport.
Docile Pitches
One of the great adventures of cricket was the test of a player in varied conditions. In India ball would turn, in Sri Lanka it would come slow, English pitches assisted Swing where as Aussie pitches were fast. Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Shewag, Ricky Ponting, Brain Lara, Muralitharan, Shane Warne became greats not batting and bowling on docile batsmen friendly pitches. T20 pitches are prepared in such a way that it hardly matters where you are playing, its almost the same thing. Adaptability of a player, his ability is hardly getting tested in T20 Cricket.
No 2nd Chances
You can be unlucky once, so tests gives you two chances. In 1999, Chennai, India V/s Pakistan Test, Sachin got out of duck in the 1st innings. Like life, Cricket gives you a 2nd chance. Sachin made 136 in the 2nd innings and yet to be defeated by 17 runs. Tests gives you that 2nd chance. To take it or not is in your hands. T20 is far from all this.
Heros are made and forgotten in a Day
Lets remember those moments etched in our memory about test Cricket
• India Beat invincible Aussies in 2003 where they were on a 17 test win rolling streak
• Laxman’s 281 and Rahul’s 181 and Harbhajan’s Hatrick in the same match
• Shewag’s Triple Ton at Multan
• Sachin’s 114 at Perth
• Kumble’s perfect 10 at Kotla
Well I can go on and on. How many such incidents do you remember of T20 cricket. The only one that comes to my mind is Yuvi’s 6 Sixers in an over. Heros are made of people making a quick 20s/30s. Fortunately they are forgotten the next day. People cannot and do not forget the above achievements of tests
Boundaries and Good Shorts do not mean anything
A Cover drive of a short of a length ball with 3 slips and 2 gullies on is such a great short in Test Cricket. Does a Dilliscoop any match to the same.
Intolerable Language
T20 has commercialized the game so much that even the literature of the game has been adversely affected. “Citi moment of Success”, “Karbon Kamaal Catch”, MRF Blimp is what I get to hear when I watch T20. I miss the days when commentators described Saurav’s off side play as “on the off side, 1st there is God and then Ganguly.”Where are those days
However I also know that as long as I choose to be a cricket fan, I got to make peace with T20 cricket. But then the administrators of Cricket throughout the world need to remember that no business that takes its core customers for granted can survive long. If Tests go, cricket dies.
