Why I love Test Cricket more than T20 or ODI’s.

The debate has been going around for quite some time now, as to which is the best form of cricket in today’s world. People have already given their verdict out with packed stadiums for T20 matches or you can say franchise cricket. On the other hand you have senior sportsperson and torch bearers of the game who are emphasizing the never say die nature of test cricket. Some how the answer can be seen in the recently concluded IND-ENG and SA-AUS series. Wow what an awesome display of cricket was on platter for all pure cricket lovers like us.

It is the form of cricket, were coaches tell you to give the first hour to the bowler. Fight out the initial tough phase of the session and there after pounce on every offering given to you. A type of cricket were multiple plans need to be placed, were strategies change every session and were the lady luck might just shine on you with that last throw of dice. Still remember Tendulkar being given last over of the day in Multan test (2004) and how he managed to zip the ball between Moin Khan’s legs and knock his wickets.

Oh! You always love a fast bowler running steamily on a fast Perth wicket, bowling his heart out and making the batsman dance on his tunes. Or an elegant batsman making right use of his footwork and diffusing all the tactics of the bowler. The cat and mouse game that goes on between sessions. Surviving those few anxious moments of the last session before the day ends. The night watchman coming to the teams rescue in those moments, just to prevent your premium batsmen being exposed. The type of cricket that separates the men from the boys.

Things with test cricket often become iconic for eg. Shane Warne, showing his ball to the crowd after reaching each of his landmarks. Sachin Tendulkar, obliging the almighty after each of his hundred with arms fully stretched towards heaven.

The crowd equally contributes to the high voltage drama that goes on in the centre. The cheers are definitely higher when you see an Aussie bowler sledging the batsmen just out of sheer frustration. The kind of support that a bowler receives from the crowd in the stands at the boundary line when he has given bodyline treatment to the opposition. The West Indian crowd would in fact yell it out “Hey Mickey (Michael Holding), knock his head off man”. The Eden Gardens crowd is what many cricketers admire, just for the love and passion with which they support their game. Indeed they even bring goose bumps on those watching the action from their backyard.

With test cricket, come the moments that last forever. Receiving that national cap, for which millions sweat it out under the sun, from your seniors in the team on the first day of your debut test match or escorting your team off the park at the end of the day’s play, after a sensational batting display or after wrecking the backbone of opponents batting order. Or the guards of honour that a legend gets in his last appearence as a player from the opposition team. Moments like these are always special. You don’t forget them ever. That’s why probably Baggy green (Australia’s national cap) is given so much importance.

More than any thing, what Test cricket gives you is the chance to be a part of the legacy. You get compared with the greats of the game on reaching landmarks. No one remembers a T20 hundred scored for some franchise. But centuries made at Lords, SCG are always recorded at their gallery.

More often that not what we see in T20 cricket is that the ground conditions remain same everywhere, in whichever continent you play. Flat belter tracks that give more sixes and fours and make bowlers feel “Why the hell did I choose to become a Bowler”. But that is not the case with Test cricket. You have seaming tracks in England, turning ones in the subcontinent and bouncy tracks in SA and Australia. More importantly over the period of five days, the wicket itself changes its nature and with that changes the fortunes of the two teams. That makes test cricket, the most challenging format of the game and a more intriguing one for die hard cricket lovers.

To me T20 cricket is like Fast food cricket, at least that’s what I would like to call it. Have that little bit of burger or pizza and you are done for the day. But test cricket is not like that. It is like our well cooked biryani or a vintage wine. And we all know that biryani would always ‘test’ better than a chicken puff.

The coming year also stores in some lavish feast of test cricket for all of us. The up coming series against the Aussies in Feb and then the age old rivals lock horns again with the Ashes being scheduled in the later half of the year.

Let the fighting spirits be high and hope for some grueling on field contest.

                                                                                                      OMKAR JUVEKAR.