Opinings on Test cricket usually skew one way or other. First variation, usually after some hypercapitalist irruption, is ‘Test cricket is under threat and/or doomed’; second variation, usually after some great match or other, is ‘Test cricket lives.’ Both have foundation. Every form of the game is competing for its future; Test cricket is under greatest pressure because it is the longest, in an already crowded calendar, and the most complex, in an instant gratification world. Yet Test matches have also seldom been more exhilirating, barrelling along at unprecedented scoring rates, then exploding thanks to batting’s underlying brittleness.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Cricket Et Al to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.