Home advantage has always played a big part in cricket, as it probably has in all international sports. But these days it makes a huge difference in Test cricket.
As India will be touring Australia this summer, let us analyse the home-and-away series results since 1996-97 when the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was inaugurated.
In Australia, Australia won the Test series 3-0 in 1999-2000, drew 1-1 in 2003-04, won 2-1 in 2007-08 and won 4-0 in 2011-12. Thus Australia won 10-2 on its home turf in this period.
In India, India won the Test series 1-0 in 1996-97, won 2-1 in 1997-98, won 2-1 in 2000-01, lost 1-2 in 2004-05, won 2-0 in 2008-09, won 2-0 in 2010-11 and won 4-0 in 2012-13. Thus India won 14-4 in their backyard during the same period.
By any statistical yardstick, Australia going from 10-2 victorious at home to 4-14 losers in India is a significant difference. What is interesting is the fact that the home and overseas difference has increased in the last two decades.
Let us analyse the Australia versus India Test series before 1996.
At home, Australia won the Test series 4-0 in 1947-48, 4-0 in 1967-68, 3-2 in 1977-78 (when most Australian Test cricketers were playing for the World Series Cricket), drew 1-1 in 1980-81, drew 0-0 in 1985-86 and won 4-0 in 1991-92. In this period they won 16-3 in Australia.
India lost 0-2 in 1956-57, lost 1-2 in 1959-60, drew 1-1 in 1964-65, lost 1-3 in 1969-70, won 2-0 in 1979-80 and drew 0-0 in 1986-87 in matches played at home. They lost 5-8 in this timeframe.
So why did Australia win the Test series 8-5 in India before 1996 and lose 4-14 after 1996?
My explanation is that visiting teams in the past used to play more first-class matches before the Test series commenced, and also in between Test matches.
For instance Australian played Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bengal, Delhi and the President’s XI prior and between the Test series.
These days it is a first-class match, then a Test match and hardly any other practice to get the players acclimatised to foreign conditions as the series progresses.
Australian cricketers more used to pace and swing find India’s spinning dust balls difficult to adjust to without learning state and provincial matches. The same happens to the Indian players, who come from the spin heavens of Mumbai, Chennai, Mohali and Nagpur to the speed and bounce of Perth.
The last two Ashes series also underline the home-and-away variation. Australia whitewashing England 5-0 in Australia in 2013-14 but losing 0-3 in England only a few months ago.
It’s about time ICC organise more first-class matches for a touring team and less one day internationals and Twenty20 money spinners.
Unfortunately, more viewers want to watch TV soapies than the “Gone with the Wind” classic. Sadly, the fact is that first-class cricket is fast disappearing with the wind.
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Will India turn it around in the ODI series against England starting today?
Tom from Perth
Guest
HAHA!
ChrisT
Guest
So a work of fiction revered by the weak minded?
bearfax
Guest
Compare the game though with baseball played in the States. Games are usually 2-5 hours long. Sometimes they play two games in a day. Because of the number of games in a season playing consecutive days sometimes three in a row is required. Yet the game continues to thrive.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I agree. I played proper grade cricket until I finished Uni and started work and moved back to Sydney. I tried joining a club then, but realised it just wasn't going to work. I was getting off the train coming home from work seeing people leaving training. There was just no way I could do training twice a week and such anymore. I suppose if you are talking about the health of cricket for the purpose of building the next generation of cricketers then it doesn't matter. If you have good levels of participation at Junior level, then if many of those who are never going to make first class level drop off when they start working it doesn't really affect the production line of cricketers. I have heard many parents of young kids comment that they don't like the idea of their kids playing cricket compared to other sports because it goes for so much longer. Even junior cricket goes for 3-3 1/2 hours on a Saturday morning. That's still twice as long as any football code. Of course, it's played in the off-season for football, so isn't directly competing there, but I can see their point. My eldest isn't even 2 yet, so I've got a bit of time before I get to that sort of stuff.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Maybe they think that 2-day matches are great preparation for the tests as they are only expecting to last about that long in each test anyway.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Over the last 10 years I've played in a couple of different competitions from the Northern Beaches of Sydney to the Hawkesbury region in North West Sydney. Both were struggling compared to what they once were. It may be that the junior levels are getting more and just less of the players who aren't at the more elite levels (and therefore likely to play in the more regional competitions rather than the main grade competitions) are continuing to play at senior level, which you could argue doesn't hurt the talent pool at all. There was a definite increase last season. Ashes years always see an increase. It's also hard to compare overall numbers to 20-30 years ago directly. When I was a kid there was no kanga-cricket or things like that and junior cricket didn't start until Under 10s. These days it starts a lot earlier than that. So you've got several more years of juniors. Add to that the fact that women's cricket has increased dramatically, the actual numbers graduating from juniors to seniors each year may actually be less. But either way, it may be that it's more just the "social senior cricket" is struggling more than the entire production line.
Hutchoman
Roar Pro
Agreed, have been there for 20 years as both a player and administrator and seen blokes, now including myself, come and go for many reasons, one of which is yours. The other battle is keeping the kids going as long as possible. They get to around the 16 mark and the dual pressures of parents directing them more towards their studies and other "adolescent interests" sees a large drop out rate. Unfortunately many don't return even if they don't have the work pressures you've described. I don't know exactly what the answer is (we've tried many over the years in our association) but we need to be able to bridge the gap from juniors to seniors.
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
I started my post with a TV soapie, Home and Away. Let me end with a few old TV sit-coms; "Get Smart" cricket Boards, don't get "Bewitched" by T20 cash and look out for "Hayden's Heroes". Any more ideas, "As time goes by"?
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Dear Roarers, thanks for your varied and interesting responses. The point of my post was not so much whether Test cricket will survive as to give a visiting team more first-class matches before the first Test and a few between Test matches. Only then a visiting team will adapt to varying conditions and perform well.
Nick
Guest
Actually, SA v Eng seems to be the exception to the rule with SA winning the last two away series in Eng and Eng winning and drawing the last two series in SA.
Nick
Guest
Not really. The US courses tend to be more homogenous and designed for target golf. On the other hand the European Tour which is more of a world tour with events played across five continents tends to produce much greater variety from links courses to American style courses and everything in between.
bearfax
Guest
Not sure that its true that test cricket will wane with baby boomers gone. What the stats seem to suggest is that test attendance is cyclic. Of course in the pre TV days of Bradman, the crowds were larger in general, but much seems to depend in Australia on how the home team are progressing and who they are playing. Certainly short form cricket attracts the younger and female component, but that doesnt seem to lessen the overall test cricket attendance over the years. In fact some Ashes tours have been near record attendance and that's surely not all those aged 55 and over. What seems to happen is that people get a taste for cricket and his finer qualities at test cricket level and start to watch it more. TV audiences are huge. This argument about the demise of cricket has been around since the 1970's when Packer's involvement saw a drop in test attendance because of the 60 and 50 over game. But within 10 years the crowds at test level recovered and havent much changed since then. Yes cricket will wax and wane as it always has, and much of that depends on hero worshiping of favorite players. That will never stop
Glenn Innes
Guest
Also you defeat your own argument,first class and test cricket are and have been for some time with the exception of the ashes subsidised by the shorter forms of the game, So like anything that relies on some form of patronage first class and test cricket (ashes excepted) is at the mercy of its patrons.Whlie the big three nations are prepared to subsidise traditional cricket with money transfers from income earned via limited overs cricket the traditional game will stagger on. But if the day ever comes when say India loses the faith and pulls the pin then outside Australia and England traditional cricket will quickly die and you will be left with nothing but the ashes.That my friend is the state of play as we look to the future.
Johnno
Guest
Ireland has hope as a test cricket nation. Right next door to England give it, that rivalry that can develop. Canada has some hope in test cricket too, I reckon. Cricket in Canada is getting very popular, all the Indians over there are playing it.
Glenn Innes
Guest
What kind of crowds turn up to watch test cricket in those countries,The cold hard truth is without Australia England and of course India pro cricket would not even be viable in South Africa New Zealand.etc.
Tom from Perth
Guest
What about South Africa? New Zealand? Sri Lanka? All of this doom and gloom is unwarranted. Test cricket is going nowhere. And for people who are complaining about T20, the BBL is financing the Shield teams and will keep them alive financially.
Glenn Innes
Guest
The thing about test cricket is when it is played between two relatively evenly matched teams on wickets that give bowlers a chance it is the most exciting game there is. But when you get mismatches or games played on featherbeds it is the most boring game in the world so it is a game of extremes.That is why I am desperately hoping India can aim up and give Australia a run for it's money this summer..Test Cricket badly needs something more than the a home Ashes series every four years to stay relevant in one of only three countries capable of sustaining the test match game. Sadly I just don't think India will have a good enough bowling attack to really trouble our batsmen and that leads to big scores and one sided games and everyone losing interest..I hope they prove me wrong,I really do for the sake of test cricket.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Sheek - Test cricket will stagger on for a while yet,probably longer than you or me will but the day Australia, England and India decide they are no longer prepared to subsidise it then it's good night nurse.Fortunately I think that is a long way off yet, but if the Indian elite ever lose the faith then the ashes will become the only test cricket left alive.
Johnno
Guest
Sheek it's clear the Big Bash is a younger audience and women. Throw in another 20-25 years, the baby boomers won't be there, and some of them have faded already. And no one watches 1st-class state cricket, the sheffield shield. People born 1990-onwards aren't carrying the torch of passion for longer form of cricket. For me one of the so-called big 4 test-cricket nations. South African crowds are worringly low for test cricket.Outside of Newlands Cape Town, and maybe at the Wanderers in Joberg, not alot of interest. India test crowd flucuate alot. Aus-Eng, already in the Women's ASHES, it now a cumlative Ashes contest all 3 formats of the game, like a club championship to decide the ASHES, won't surprise if in 20-years the men follow suit and have a club championship style ASHES, all 3 forms of the game deciding the ASHES.