It’s common knowledge that the interests and expectations of young people are changing, but as cricket pivots to keep pace, we should consider what may be lost.
It’s the third day of the 2018 Adelaide Test match.
India’s Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are stubbornly blunting Australia’s attack in an important, if attritional, partnership.
My friend and I are well aware that this is a crucial part of the match. If Kohli falls, then he will expose the middle order. If they bat out the day, then India will go a long way to building an unassailable lead.
It’s tight, high-stakes cricket.
Despite knowing this, I can’t help but feel a little impatient as Pujara expertly pads away another Nathan Lyon delivery.
Dare I say it, with the Test in the balance and against my better judgement, I’m feeling a little… bored.
I mentally and physically kick myself for my weakness. After all, I have happily watched and participated in hundreds of hours of far less engaging cricket.
But I just want to be there for something magical, to be part of something special, and dammit, I want it now.
I lean forward in my seat and fidget with my knees. I begin to ask whether my friend would like another beverage, before catching myself mid-sentence.
If my friend and I – self-diagnosed long-form aficionados – do not appreciate what is unfolding, who will?
I decide to suck it up and intensify my interest in the contest. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
To our right, a middle-aged gentleman is sitting with his son and a few of the youngster’s friends. The father and I have engaged in a few pleasantries throughout the day and he now rises from his seat.
India’s Cheteshwar Pujara compiled a patient century at the Adelaide Oval last summer. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
“Alright, I’ve had enough, let’s go get something to eat,” he declares to his young troupe. “Might even sneak in a cheeky Pimm’s.”
I nod my approval at his comment and glance hopefully at my Test-attending buddy, who I note with a tinge of regret is staring intently at the replay screen. I once again draw myself into the depths of my seat.
“We can’t leave now!” chirps the man’s son. “Kohli’s in.”
“He’ll still be in when we get back,” replies the father.
“But he might not be.”
The father sighs, stretches for a while and then retakes his seat. Kohli makes 34 before he’s caught off of an inside edge at short leg. The excitement of the wicket is quickly quelled by the fact that we won’t get to witness a masterclass.
Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane bat out the remaining overs and my friend and I head to Rundle Street, both quite unreasonably a little disappointed at what we saw, but too proud to admit it.
Nonetheless, we came back the next day and the day after that, and just about saw our classic.
The father said he wouldn’t be back for more – he was waiting for the Big Bash. But he was glad he took his son and his friends out to the match.
For their part, the kids were looking forward to watching the next day’s play, even though it would have been on television.
They couldn’t wait to see more of Pujara’s batting. “He averages 50.”
They knew this as they had his profile open on Cricinfo.
True story.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
No and when England tour here The Barmy Army pay about 7 Pounds for the best seats. Less than 1 Pound for a beer. Lucky them.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Wow, that's value for money. Can't complain about the price then.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Very affordable here range from R10. 00 ( scholars) to R150. 00. Think in USD that's less than a dollar up to 10 dollars. CSA rely heavily on Corporate suites and TV revenue for income.
Cheers
Roar Rookie
I hope that you are right and admire your faith in humanity’s intelligence! I definitely agree that ‘the death of’, coverage leans towards the hyperbolic and that industries can adapt.
Cheers
Roar Rookie
Are ticket prices prohibitive in SA? They have been dropped in Australia to start around $30 a day which hasn't exactly resulted in a massive rise in numbers but is a lot cheaper than in the UK.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Yeah, and it's not as though being one of the so called big 3 guarantees a great contest either. Sri Lanka played much better than we did last time as far as I can see.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
I think it’s as much of a mystery to me as to CSA. Take Pakistan for example. The last 2 decades has seen a large migration of Pakistanis to SA. One would expect them to turn up but don’t. Problem is say Sri Lanka play a 3 Test series the tour costs are exactly the same as when Aus visit. It’s a big loss and CSA at the present time in the red.
StevieJ
Roar Rookie
Great article Daniel, your honesty really lifts this story. I'm still optimistic about the future of test cricket. Consider some other cases where doomsdayers have predicted the future 'death of X'. When the internet made free video content on youtube and pirated network tv shows widely available, people were predicting the death of quality tv shows. With less advertising support for tv networks, they would produce cheaper and cheaper content. We'd all be stuck watching reality tv and other similar rubbish. Well that did happen, but - we also got Netflix, Amazon, HBO etc. We got an explosion of long form, high quality content. The narrative on these shows unfolds over a whole season or many seasons, rather than being limited to a single 30-60 minute story arc. Turns out there is a big market for this and we're not all as stupid as was predicted. Similar story for investigative journalism. The old 'Spotlight' type units in broadsheet newspapers is gone. However people are tuning in to podcasts like 'the Teacher's Pet'. The quality of investigative journalism has gone up for those who are still interested - many are! The trick for Test cricket will be to figure out how to adapt to this new landscape, but I believe the demand for Cricket in its most complex and rewarding format will always be there.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Crowds were poor in India last time we were there, at least on the vision I saw which I admit wasn't much. As for South Africa, well, that's strange. Any particular reason for that in your view?
Cheers
Roar Rookie
I think they are looking at playing 100 overs a day, so the difference might not be that noticeable (be a long day at the cricket with these over rates though). Wouldn't get to see a crumbling fifth day deck which can be great to watch.
Cheers
Roar Rookie
South Africa played a four day test against Zimbabwe at the end of 2017, match was over in 2-3 days so it didn't really prove anything one way or the other. I would imagine that cricket SA saved some money as they didn't have to budget for a fifth day which was always pretty unlikely to happen.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Um DungerBob India too. Crowds in SA not bad but only when playing the Big 3.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Joshua this is tongue in cheek but us Saffers wouldn’t mind at all letting the pace bowlers dominate. But more seriously I take note of your comment and agree.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I don't think 4 day cricket would confirm the death of spin bowling. Leicestershire used spinners in the current match against Worcestershire in the County Championship to improve the over rate as well as limiting the scoring.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
The only problem with the creation of 4 day test matches is that there will be increased draws because teams will not declare like you propose and just play for the draw (this tends to happen in the County Championship to my annoyance). There is a 4 day test match here in England against Ireland at Lord’s from July 18-21. I know it won’t be entirely representative of top-class test match cricket (sorry Ireland) but it’ll be a good experiment.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Peter I'm not really with you. The 3 day game has not diluted spin bowling why should 4 days. When the " Rebel" sides toured SA during the isolation years the " Tests" were played over 4 days. It worked really well.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Start small, think big. I wouldn't expect a 5 year old to last a full day of a test match so T20 is a good place to start.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I'm 16 (17 in June) and follow every England test. Of course I don't sit down to watch every ball (but that's largely down to sixth form committments) but I do a combination of watching live, listening on the radio, watching highlights, reading live scores and newspaper articles. I'll give you the example of me signing out from sixth form to go home and watch the England v West Indies test series (only for England to be bowled out by 5pm). I do like ODIs and T20s but I don't follow them as much.
Peter Warrington
Guest
I think it would confirm the death of spin bowling?
Peter Warrington
Guest
I think the women's test against the world is a no-brainer. they will all be here for the WBBL. there will be a gap in the schedule while we fluff around in India n meaningless ODIs. Kaur, Bates, Devine, Tahuhu, Mandhana, Kapp, Van Niekerk, Ecclestone etc, sticking it to our (hopefully) triumphant Ashes winners seems tailor-made for Manuke?