Testing Times: The campaign to save Test cricket

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 …

It was no surprise England lost 5-0

So England lost 5-0 in India. If you’d read my blog after the first match, you’ll know it was little surprise. That’s because England are not a top one-day side. Even the series victory over India at the end of last summer was never as convincing as many people wanted it to be. England won 3-0, but it could easily have been 3-2, either way.

This is nothing new. England have been like this for a long, long time. They have their moments, but consistency has always been elusive. It always will be while we consider one-day cricket the poor relation of our game.

England didn’t lose in India because the counties only play 40-over cricket, but such mutton-headed decisions play their part in a mindset that eventually leads to frustration, and sometimes embarrassment, at international level.

For once this was actually a series for which England were well-prepared. Forget the nonsense talk about tiredness. India had far more cause to complain in that department. England went to India early and had plenty of time. All the more reason then for Andy Flower to be so miffed that his team feel so short in the simple disciplines of fielding and running between the wickets. He has built his regime on improvement in those areas, and it was unfathomable as to why England were so poor in executing them in India.

England’s batsmen simply did not score off enough balls. They have improved their boundary hitting enormously, and it often showed when they outscored India in that department. But to use a very modern term, they used up too many ‘dot balls’.

It is my main criticism of Jonathan Trott. Not that he struggles to hit hard at the end of an innings (although he does because he struggles to secure a solid hitting base with his always-moving-forward trigger movement), but that he does not find enough singles at the start. He would take an awful lot of pressure off himself if he could only do that.

Playing spin in India is mightily difficult, but the truth is that, contrary to the incessant squeals from many commentators, you have to sweep. Yes, maybe England need to sweep better, but they sure need to sweep. Talk of moving your feet more is anachronistic, especially against a ball that you are unsure of which way it is turning. To try to play a turning ball with a straight bat is to play across the line. If anything on such slow pitches England’s batsmen need to play off the back foot more. Tim Bresnan did that to good effect in one innings.

I disagree, though, with my esteemed Telegraph colleague Michael Vaughan on the subject of pitches. We should not prepare turners at home. We should use home advantage like everyone else. You don’t see green tops in India. And the next World Cup is in Australia and New Zealand anyway.

What would be nice is if there was some 50-over county cricket played in the height of the summer when spinners might be able to play a part. At the moment spinners succeed in domestic short-form cricket (especially Twenty20), not because they spin the ball, but because they bowl slowly and batsmen struggle without pace for hitting. That is often not good enough at international level.

Should we panic now? I don’t think so. Selection after Christmas will certainly be interesting, especially as regards the wicketkeeping position. I see the knives are out for Craig Kieswetter. He has certainly had a disappointing series, but isn’t it time we backed a batsman/wicketkeeper? That revolving door we so love has to stop some time.

Maybe it is just that, as Flower alluded to, it is that this same group of players, with Eoin Morgan and Stuart Broad back (and possibly James Anderson), have to execute their skills more adeptly?

What do you think?

 

 

Here we go again as England are thrashed by India in India

Oh dear. A lot of fears were realised in Hyderabad today. This was just like the World Cup. This was just like England in the sub-continent since the year dot. This was all thoroughly depressing.

This was certainly the beginning of India’s Payback Plan. How the summer in England hurt them. “Wait till we get you on our own pitches,” they said. We laughed. But deep down, we knew. This was always going to be a fiendishly difficult series, especially when you lose the toss as England did today.

There was no pace and bounce to trouble the Indian batsmen, and how they loved it. There was actually a little uneven bounce, which meant that a total of 300 was way above par. England bowled reasonably well for 30 overs. For the last 20 they were awful. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with the blades of his personalised helicopter shot whirling merrily, was quite magnificent. But England hardly bowled shrewdly at him.

At around the halfway stage England looked reasonably placed. Comparative scores were promising. But you can never rely on such an ending that the Indians managed. Alastair Cook needed to crack on. He played nicely. All the others played horribly.

The Jonathan Trott debate will be revived. And so it should be, despite the fact that is Warwickshire supporters will be enraged. He was slow again. This is not to say he should be dropped. I do not think that. He scores runs for fun. The record books are in his favour. When he scores runs, England generally win. But if he is to bat at No 4 as he surprisingly did today, then he should not play. He simply has to bat at No 3 or not at all.

And no less loud should be the Kevin Pietersen argument. He took one excellent catch, but otherwise fielded very poorly. He didn’t score runs again. What is happening, Kev? Time is running out in international one-day cricket.

What of Ian Bell? A very sound observer of the game recently told me that he thought Bell is currently the best batsman in the world. But he can’t make it into England’s one-day side. It is a curiosity.

Is Samit Patel really good enough to be a second spinner in ODIs? I’m not sure, and I was championing his cause before the World Cup, when I was lamenting his sloth as regards fitness.

These are a lot of questions that need answering. It is only one game, yes, but it is too familiar a scenario. Should we panic? How can England turn things around?

Thoughts please, especially from my Indian friends, who must be very happy again now!

ICC conference flip-flop madness

'Just try to stay awake until they bring the rubber chicken lunches round' PHOTO: GETTY

The mysterious blazer-wearing, back-scratching lizard people who make up the ICC have been having one of their periodic meetings. Here’s what they have ruled – and the real reasons behind their decisions…

Ruling: Decision Review System change of heart

Surprisingly going against the wishes of India, the ICC decreed in June that this would henceforth be mandatory for all Tests and ODIs. Have now u-turned and said that technology will be bilaterally agreed on a case-by-case basis by the competing countries in a series.

Reasons:Unacceptably high numbers of Indian batsmen being given out in series against England. MS Dhoni told them to change their mind. Urgent commercial need to ensure Indian batsmen are not given out in future series; and guard against doomsday scenario of Sachin being given out on review and thus being denied his 100th 100. Possible reintroduction once 100th 100 has been passed to make sure nobody ever beats record has been mooted.

Ruling: Shelving of the proposed World Test Championship

Finding itself in the unfamiliar position of having come up with an idea that a lot of cricket fans actually quite fancied – the 2013 tournament in England between the top four Test sides – the ICC panicked and have now decided to push the five-day championship back to 2017 at the earliest.

Reasons: India no longer very good at Test cricket. You can play five ODIs in the time it takes to get through a boring old Test match. Moving personal plea from Suresh Raina not to have to face Test match bowling again.

Ruling: Possible reintroduction of the Champions League Trophy

The resultant hole in the 2013 schedule looks the perfect size for the broadcaster-friendly Carling Cup of international cricket, a 50-over tournament so lacking in prestige that even England have reached the final in recent years, but one that does not exclude the weaker nations.

Reasons: People in India like 50-over cricket. Ravi Shastri has a window in his schedule and can do some commentary. No sane person would rather watch England v South Africa play a Test at Lord’s when they could be watching Zimbabwe v Bangladesh in the round-robin phase of an ODI tournament. Why should sides be financially penalised for not being good at Test cricket?

Ruling: Qualifying for 2015 World Cup simplified

Having decided in June that the 2015 World Cup would feature just ten teams, the next obvious move was to backtrack from that and say that there would be 14 teams involved. The ten Test teams gets in, even the ones that don’t really play Tests but can be relied upon to do the right thing when it’s balloting time. They are joined by the two winners of an easy-to-understand, user-friendly system where the top two teams from the Intercontinental One Day Cup will join four others from the World Cricket League, including the third and fourth placed teams in ICC Division Two and the winners and runners-up from Division Three, plus the winner of the UEFA Fair Play Award, the third-placed act in the Eurovision song contest, and Somerset, in a massive qualifying tournament-cum-fight-to-the-death held at the NEC Birmingham and presented by Holly Willoughby and Sunil Gavaskar.

Reasons: Because we can. What’s the point of having administrators if they don’t administrate?

India dressing room: rain delay fly-on-the-wall

India's latest call-up warms up for action at the Rose Bowl

Behind-the-scenes in the Indian rooms at a rainy Rosebowl…

“Right then you guys,” said Duncan Fletcher. “How about we use this rain delay for a bit of work in the gym?”

He bounced a rugby ball eagerly on the floor and mimed some forward presses.

“That is a most splendid idea, Mr Duncan,” said MS Dhoni. “And thank you so much for bringing it to our attention. Very much the sort of radical ‘out of your box’ thinking that we are keen to hear from you.”

Fletcher looked pleased. “I thought we could start with a really good run around and then I could whack some balls about for everyone to chase and –”

MS held up his hand, smiling benevolently.

“As I say, Mr Duncan, a wonderful suggestion but I think it would be best if we all had a bit of discussion and got back to you with our findings.”

Politely but meaningfully, MS nodded towards the dressing room door. Fletcher trudged out sadly. He took a picture of Ashley Giles and Geraint Jones fooling around with the slip cradle out of his pocket and sighed. Fletcher shut the door behind him.

Parthiv Patel woke up with a start.

“Is that the pizza man? You better not have had my pizzas, you greedy sods. I’ve had nothing since lunch,” said Parthiv.

“It’s okay man, relax,” said Suresh Raina. “It’s just that old guy who tells the scary stories about packs of fast bowlers. He’s harmless enough.”

“Oh thank goodness,” said Parthiv. “I thought I’d missed my pizza.” He went back to sleep on top of a pile of bandages.

“Well then boys,” said MS. “Shall we give this ‘gymnasium’ business a go, then? Rahul swears by it, apparently.”

Praveen Kumar stood up. He picked up a niggle.

“On second thoughts,” said Dhoni. “I don’t think we can afford any more injuries. I’ll tell Fletcher he’ll have to come up with something else.”

India Dressing Room: Rain Delay Fly-On-The-Wall

India's latest call-up warms up for action at the Rose Bowl

Behind-the-scenes in the Indian rooms at a rainy Rosebowl…

“Right then you guys,” said Duncan Fletcher. “How about we use this rain delay for a bit of work in the gym?”

He bounced a rugby ball eagerly on the floor and mimed some forward presses.

“That is a most splendid idea, Mr Duncan,” said MS Dhoni. “And thank you so much for bringing it to our attention. Very much the sort of radical ‘out of your box’ thinking that we are keen to hear from you.”

Fletcher looked pleased. “I thought we could start with a really good run around and then I could whack some balls about for everyone to chase and –”

MS held up his hand, smiling benevolently.

“As I say, Mr Duncan, a wonderful suggestion but I think it would be best if we all had a bit of discussion and got back to you with our findings.”

Politely but meaningfully, MS nodded towards the dressing room door. Fletcher trudged out sadly. He took a picture of Ashley Giles and Geraint Jones fooling around with the slip cradle out of his pocket and sighed. Fletcher shut the door behind him.

Parthiv Patel woke up with a start.

“Is that the pizza man? You better not have had my pizzas, you greedy sods. I’ve had nothing since lunch,” said Parthiv.

“It’s okay man, relax,” said Suresh Raina. “It’s just that old guy who tells the scary stories about packs of fast bowlers. He’s harmless enough.”

“Oh thank goodness,” said Parthiv. “I thought I’d missed my pizza.” He went back to sleep on top of a pile of bandages.

“Well then boys,” said MS. “Shall we give this ‘gymnasium’ business a go, then? Rahul swears by it, apparently.”

Praveen Kumar stood up. He picked up a niggle.

“On second thoughts,” said Dhoni. “I don’t think we can afford any more injuries. I’ll tell Fletcher he’ll have to come up with something else.”

This is how the Ashes used to be

I’ve seen days like this before. They were when the great Australia team were in their pomp, and England were in their pocket. How things have changed. We are supposed to be watching the contest for No 1 spot in the world, but instead it’s like watching the World XI against Ilford second XI, as Graham Gooch once so memorably described the gap in class between facing Richard Hadlee at one end and his New Zealand colleagues at the other.

For the truth is that, if I said it was no contest yesterday, I am not sure how to describe today’s play. I think there might have been a moment in the morning session when the Indians bowled reasonably well to Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, but otherwise all I can recall is England’s dominance; their sheer, relentless and regal dominance.

So Cook is back. He’d only really popped down from batting’s Mount Olympus for a change of scenery. This was England’s greatest Test batsman in action. Not that he is quite yet, and not that he is the best to watch. But statistically he will stand way, way above all others by the end of his career. As he does, today he just batted. And batted. He was 182 not out at the close. He’ll bat some more tomorrow.

When Strauss was bowled around his legs, sweeping, it was a surprise. It was also a no-ball from Amit Mishra, who for a leg-spinner bowled a remarkable amount of those today, but umpire Simon Taufel decided not to consult the technology before Strauss had left the ground. It was a rare mistake.

Ian Bell was a little skittish. It has been an emotional week for him, with the death of his mentor Neal Abberley, and a Test on his revamped home ground. And he was a little too keen to exert his positivity on proceedings. He was dropped at slip by Rahul Dravid of all people, but actually copped a decent ball form Praveen Kumar.

At 252-2 the stage was set for Kevin Pietersen. And he did not disappoint. His 63 was a delightful knock, full of the vim and cockiness we have been missing. His lbw decision to Kumar, to whom Pietersen seemingly stands as close to as he does to his own stumps, was marginal but justifiable. Pietersen did not like it one bit, mind.

Eoin Morgan should have gone twice, but Sreesanth and then Dravid again inexplicably dropped sitters, as India’s misery was complete. Their fielding has been abject all tour.

England are now 232 ahead. Will they declare tomorrow? Will they heck. They will get as many as they can. There are signs of considerable turn. Graeme Swann will be warming his spinning fingers.

Thoughts?

Is this pitch doing too much?

I’m in a bit of a quandary here. For most of the summer I’ve been campaigning for spicier pitches in order to inconvenience the visitors from the sub-continent. Now with this pitch at Trent Bridge, I’m worried things may have gone a little too far. I’m hoping that it might be the combination of the overhead conditions and the greenish pitch that is making batting look so treacherous.

But when you see the ball that dismissed Graeme Swann, sending him off to hospital for an x-ray, you do wonder whether that really should be happening on the first day of a Test match.

What cannot be denied is that it has provided some absorbing cricket. India’s bowlers bowled excellently until Stuart Broad and Swann counter-attacked late on in a thrilling partnership. It certainly wasn’t mindless slogging. It was calculated aggression in conditions that demanded such an approach. There always appears to be a good ball waiting around the corner for you on this pitch, so it’s best to score as many runs as you can before it arrives.

Pace and bounce are what I’ve been advocating all summer, but whilst there has been some bounce here there has not been a great deal of pace. But, with a rather uneven covering of grass, there has been seam movement to add to the swing through the air that you always seem to encounter at Trent Bridge these days.

So how did England play? Alastair Cook wasn’t out (where is that damned DRS please?), Jonathan Trott was done by swing, Andrew Strauss battled hard before losing patience and driving loosely, Kevin Pietersen was distracted by some dark windows above the sightscreen, Eoin Morgan was plumb lbw, Ian Bell was caught behind cutting and Matt Prior got a beauty. Broad and Swann rescued them.

No-one, however, played as poor a shot as Indian opener Abhinav Mukund. What was he thinking, driving with such abandon first ball? The battle to the close was then fierce. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman rode their luck and used their expertise. They will need plenty more of it tomorrow.

What do you think? Is the pitch too helpful? Or do you like this sort of cricket?

I still think it might be a draw

What a final day we have in prospect. Day four probably ended in the sort of position most people expected at the start of the day, but nobody could have predicted that England would collapse so spectacularly. Such was their first innings lead that a score of 62-5 was not a time for huge jitters, but it was certainly a time for some concern.

Cue a remarkable partnership between Matt Prior and Stuart Broad. What a cricketer Prior has become. It is still a mystery why he cannot crack the one-day stuff, but he has made himself into maybe the finest batsman/wicketkeeper in Test cricket at the moment. Indeed I heard Ian Botham on TV commentary saying that he was the best today. I don’t always agree with Botham, but this might just be one of those rare occasions.

It does tickle me that there are still those around the county cricket who blather on about the many other wicketkeepers that should be taking Prior’s place. His keeping is fine. I never thought it was as poor as many made out in his early days. He had some difficult conditions in which to keep- the rasping heat of Sri Lanka and a horribly low pitch in Trinidad are a couple of examples. And we can often be a little snobbish about wicketkeeping in England, with all that old-fashioned, romantic nonsense about specialists who cannot bat. Prior is a gem.

And so is Broad. A tip of the cap to the England management for their selection of him in this match. So many people called for Tim Bresnan, and it was probably a close call, but they stuck with Broad and he has rewarded them royally. He has looked like the champion cricketer we know he can be. And it was little surprise that he took the only wicket this evening. He is on a roll, as they say.

How many more can England take tomorrow, though? There are so many factors to take into account. Will Gautam Gambhir bat? Will the pitch deteriorate? Will the ball swing? And, of course, Sachin Tendulkar can only bat after five wickets have been taken.

I’m inclined to predict a draw, not because I think England are incapable of winning, but rather because I do not trust the pitch to offer enough assistance. We’ve seen it happen too many times before in the recent past. But we also saw a wonderful finish- and a win for England- in the 2009 Ashes match.

What will it be? Your thoughts please..

This was a famous performance from England

A famous, famous victory for England. You can point to the early withdrawal from India’s attack of Zaheer Khan, the absence from injury of Virender Sehwag as well as inconveniences to Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir, but the visitors are still ranked the best team in the world. And they won a hugely important toss when bowling conditions were at their most favourable on what turned out to be a flat pitch at Lord’s.

Yes, it was not the sort of featherbed for which I have often criticised the Lord’s groundstaff, but it was still mighty hard work for England to finish the job off today. But that is the thing about this England team: hard graft does not scare them. They are the fittest side in world cricket. They stick to simple plans, because they know they will eventually bring rewards. International cricket is about creating pressure and England’s attack does that wonderfully well. I thought they bowled quite superbly today, all four of them. Some of the Indian dismissals looked like poor shots but often you should not judge a dismissal simply on that one ball. The others around it usually set up the error. That was the case regularly today.

You will know that I predicted a draw, but England’s bowlers were simply too good. It would have been a travesty had they not achieved victory. And how fitting it was that Stuart Broad took the final wicket. What a selection that was. He rose to the occasion magnificently as did the others today in front of a packed house. It did not quite happen for James Anderson in the first innings, but it sure did today. His was as defining a performance of those in the match of Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior and Broad, heroes all. We should not forget Jonathan Trott’s batting on the first day either. It was always quite stirring stuff; proper Test cricket at its absorbing best.

But it could have been a day that was marred by the absence of the full Decision Review System. India don’t like it, and although that alone should be insufficient to stop its use, they are powerful enough within world cricket circles to persuade others to vote with them. So we have this ridiculous situation whereby lbws cannot be referred. And there were two plumb decisions today – against Tendulkar and Suresh Raina- that were not given. There had been some excellent decisions earlier, but those two were shockers and were exactly the types of decision for which the system was introduced. Just imagine the fuss had the game been drawn and either of those two players had still been there at the end! It cannot be allowed to continue. There is simply too much at stake these days for such howlers to remain unrectified. Television viewers could see the mistakes, and so the players and umpires should be able to too.

What now then? I said on Sunday that it would be a 2-1 series victory for England. But that was with a draw here. It will be fascinating to see how India respond. You never know, it might be the result that Duncan Fletcher needs. Maybe he can exert more influence. I’d never easily write off a side with him as coach, that is for certain. But it looks like 3-1 to me right now, especially if Zaheer is missing for more than one Test. I certainly can’t see a draw in the remaining Tests.

What do you think?