Drawing Uncomfortable Conclusions: Change Test Cricket or Risk Losing It

Test Cricket is believed by many to be the last bastion of the thinking man's game: the heart, soul and lifeblood of the sport.

However, those who hold the Test version of the sport up as the epitome of cricket might be of a dwindling number as the spirit of the five-day match is being siphoned away by those who should probably know better.

The scorecards of 2009's Tests make uncomfortable reading for the fan wishing to keep them at the pinnacle of the sport.

Of the 14 Test matches played this year, seven have been drawn over the five days, the majority of which can be explained through one over-riding statement: an unfair contest between bat and ball.

England's recent Test series in the West Indies is a perfect example of this. With the hosts holding a somewhat surprising 1-0 lead after the first match, the remaining pitches were flattened to within an inch of their life, making batting as easy-going as the stereotypical Caribbean lifestyle.

Results were always going to be hard to come by and so it proved, with no wins achieved and the series ending 1-0.

It is not all down to the West Indies groundsmen, though. The explosion of popularity of Twenty20 is again a contributing factor, and one that might see more aggression from batsmen and a stronger likelihood of big scores in the Test arena.

Statistically speaking, the proof is damning.

There have been 44 hundreds scored in 2009, with six over 200 and one treble century. The same period five years ago yielded only two double centuries, whilst 10 years ago only 76 tons were registered in the entire year, a figure set to be eclipsed by some margin in '09.

Additionally, this year so far 40 bowlers have gone for 100 or more in an innings, whilst in 1999 the figure for the entire year was only 52.

in 1959, there were 22 centuries scored and 21 bowlers went for a ton in one innings. This is not a good time to be of the bowling trade.

So, it is apparent that the balance between willow and leather is shifting uncomfortably and decisively, making for much more entertaining limited-overs cricket but lowering the likelihood of results in Tests dramatically.

If the batting lineups dominate the bowlers for five days every time, interest in this form of the sport is likely to wane quickly.

Are these trends merely because there aren't enough quality bowlers and too many intelligent and powerful batsmen? Maybe, but that doesn't stop the facts from being true.

Pace and power are becoming necessary attributes to succeed in any sport; batsmen will be bred to these specifications in future and bowlers will continue to be blasted from the park on a regular basis.

It is time for Test cricket and the sport's governing bodies to remove their heads from the sand and accept what is becoming obvious: Test cricket, progressing as it is, will lose audiences, interest and ultimately, respectability.

Perhaps the groundsmen should be encouraged to bring life back into these ailing pitches, fostering such forgotten cousins as uneven bounce and unpredictable pace.

It would be sacrilege to tamper too much with the rules and regulations of the game itself, but it would be even more of a sin to sit back and silently watch the death of a sporting institution.

Something must be done by the ICC to avert this procession of incessant run-scoring and bowler-bashing that is becoming the vogue of the modern era and the bane of the Test-loving cricket fan.