Australia captain Michael Clarke's lonely display of defiance against South Africa at Cape Town made for gripping viewing on Wednesday, giving the Test game a shot in the arm. West Indies' battling display against India in the first Test of that series also hinted at a welcome revival. Otherwise, however, the perception is that the five-day game is like South Africa's lions, leopards and giraffes – an endangered species, its territory being continually encroached upon by the Twenty20 game.
Australia captain Michael Clarke battles back against South Africa
Frustratingly, this series between South Africa and Australia is comprised of only two Tests. Next summer's clash between England and South Africa – effectively the world No1 title decider – is to be played over just three, even though England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke gave meetings between the two countries 'icon' (five-match) status in 2008. Pakistan are being forced to play their 'home' matches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah (they have just beaten Sri Lanka 1-0 in a series at those venues). And crowds outside matches in England and Australia are dwindling.
A hotel receptionist called Rebecca Duffy, from Hastings, and her friends want to do their bit for their cause, though. The group, which also includes James Corrigan, Lawrence Epps, Libby Leonard and Mat Richards, have initiated a campaign called 'Testing Times'. "Our aim," says Duffy, "is to find 28,000 people – the number of people who would fill Lord’s Cricket Ground – to sign our petition to show that people care about Test cricket.
"Our long term-goal is to persuade boards to ensure the protection of Test cricket by granting it greater emphasis in global schedules. However, our interim goal is to persuade the ECB to add an extra Test to next summer’s key clash between the world’s top two nations, England and South Africa."
In a short space of time, 'Testing Times' has recruited nearly 1,400 (at the last count) Twitter followers, and the cause seems to be taking off. They have been 'retweeted' by Jimmy Anderson, Ben Stokes, Jonathan Agnew, Henry Blofeld and Lalit Modi among others. "We were especially pleased with the Modi one. I suspect he didn't read it properly before retweeting, bless his cottons," Duffy said.
The 32 year-old says she fell in love with the game at the age of three. "I remember cheering for the wonderful, late Graham Dilley at Canterbury at that age."
Not to do the boards – who are responsible for how many matches there are in a series – a disservice, it is obvious why they make these decisions. The majority of cricket fanatics on the subcontinent prefer it short and sweet. I love Test cricket more than the abbreviated forms of the game, but that doesn't mean to say everyone should.
I would love the iconic old England Test jumper with a single lion in the middle to return. I hate the new whiter-than-white fleeces. I loathe the sponsor’s logo. I despise back-to-back Tests. I think matches should start on alternate Thursdays throughout the summer. And there should only be five or six. Not seven. As Rebecca teased me on Twitter: "Aaaah . . . and everyone sips lemonade on the village green whilst the Vicar's wife prepares the tea . . . if only!!"
I'm also glass-half-empty when it comes to England walloping India 4-0 in the Tests this summer. One of my colleagues told me to revel in it; it wasn't so long ago we could not beat 'flippin' Zimbabwe, or New Zealand, he said. But all I can think of is, if India are trounced, that is going to put even more of their fans off the Test game. And so on.
It is good to know there are plenty of others like me.
As the Stones used to sing, 'You can't always get what you want'. But you can try …
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