England: The Test Cricket Sanctuary

The last month saw a resurgence in Test Cricket as spectators were treated to a fine exhibition of Test match cricket in the South African win over Australia. Sadly still Tests just don't seem to be a spectator sport anymore in most parts apart from England and Australia.

Even though Australia's dethronement may attract more attention for test cricket ,still it would be an arduous task to reinstate test cricket as the premier format throughout the world, in a fast moving environment and the rise of the Twenty 20 format.

Strange as it may seem England’s bid to host test cricket doesn't seem to be a bad idea after all, in the wake of T20 fever sweeping through most pats of the world. English spectators still like the classic game and along with Australia seems to be the only place where the five day format still thrives.

However it should be remembered that England’s previous attempt at such a venture in 1912 ended as a failure. The tri nation test series in 1912 involving England South Africa and Australia was marred by poor attendance. Almost 100 years later organizers would still face the same risk.

The question would be Would the public pay to watch neutral teams in action. If England manage to host an India or Pakistan there will be no issue with the crowds as the large Indo-Pakistani population in England would definitely attend these games. Also the security issues in Pakistan would mean that they need alternative venues to host test matches.

Re-inventing test cricket would be an unwise thing to do. Suggestions such as day-night test cricket seem a little far fetched and would undoubtedly take away the traditional charm of the game.

Practically it seems England is the ideal venue for test cricket. Cool climates and long summer days pave the way for enjoyable playing and spectating. This is in contrast to the extreme conditions in the sub-continent, where watching a game for five days in the searing heat in a stadium surrounded my tons of concrete seems hardly a sensible thing to do.

It would remain to be seen as to whether the English authorities would take a risk in hosting a series of such a nature. Nevertheless it is an innovative idea. For test cricket to continue as a spectator sport it is crucial to have such innovative concepts as well as good performances from teams, such as  what we saw in the Australian summer along with increased competition from all sides.

Test cricket is undoubtedly the ultimate test of a teams strength .therefore the sustainment of the format is important, without making any major rule changes. For that England’s novel concept seems a good start. England would become the sanctuary for test cricket. This would of course be a positive outcome.

Whatever happens, cricket fans  are in for a interesting few weeks.