There are Test matches and there are testing at matches. Pakistan versus Sri Lankan at the National stadium in Karachi last week looked to be extraordinarily testing to all concerned, not least the poor bowlers who toiled on the unforgiving and relentless playing surface.
I can recall English seam bowler Paul Allot’s description of the 1985 Old Trafford Test strip as ’22 yards of rolled snot’, and that was his county’s home ground.
Now, I am unfamiliar with the actual flattened variety but his message was very clear in that high scoring draw in which the batsmen plundered and the bowlers plodded. No spin, no seam, no bounce, no joy.
It is a batsmen’s game after all I am constantly reminded.
The current West Indies v England game in Barbados is assuming similar proportions to the southern Sindhi one. Will they ever get Ramnaresh Sarwan out?
Why all this over preparation of the most important piece of apparatus in the noble game?
Is it to do with the batting captains who want conditions to suit their own careers or the administrators who want 5 full days cricket to ensure the gate takings and the TV revenue is at a maximum?
The fans who flock to the new wave of microwaved 20-over cricket only ever get the SMS code, no punctuation and bugger the grammar.
It has its attraction if the technology appeals to you and you need the extra time to download the latest podcast or iTune.
Test cricket needs to deliver its evolving dramas on the well coiffured stage, not brown and naked offerings which give no spark, presents no examination of technique and temperament, rewarding the good guy without ever letting the villain round-out the plot.
Certainly Australia’s steamrolling of opponents during the Warne/McGrath era in three day contests did not bring smiles to the face of sponsors, TV networks and media buyers. The team were happy to have extra days on the golf course but their paymasters sent out instructions to ‘make the game last five days’.
Groundsmen were hauled in before Chief Executives and the law laid down like a ten ton roller on overtime.
In a sporting contest that requires such organic input from sky and soil there is always bound to be inconsistencies, which is a good thing, otherwise we could roll out the artificial turf and sack 90% of the staff. The balance is key to a good contest and the entertainment factor.
So we come to the First Castle (local beer sponsor) Test at the Liberty Life (local insurance company sponsor) Wanderers Ground in Johannesburg.
As I write at the end of day four the match is in the balance, what a lovely thing that is. Australia are in front but never write off the Proteas (no sponsor, just local African flora).
It has been a wonderful match with wickets falling, centuries made by the deserving, catches taken behind the wickets by ‘keepers and slips. Good bowling is rewarded, bad bowling punished on a surface with grass and bounce and life. The ball has spun as well, but sadly the Australia selectors and captain see no need for a specialist spinner.
The fans are not distracted by beach balls, mexican waves and beer snakes because there is always something happening on the field, and the match is a joy to broadcast. Naturally the skill of the participants enriches the plot.
No matter what the result on day five there have been a number of outstanding performances, but perhaps the man of the match award will go to Chris Scott, the man who prepared this playing surface with loving care.
Should cricket be played on artificial grass and ensure the weather isn’t a factor and the players know what they will get across the globe ensuring TV rights and sponsors dollars, or should the game go on with turf and water influencing the progress?
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