Questions linger over the format’s feasibility but for now, the five-day game is enjoying a fine run in Australia. The MCG contest will only ramp up the expectations
MELBOURNE: The ‘G’ is calm. The picturesque Yarra Park offers shady trails and a pleasant afternoon breeze. In the distance, Melbourne’s famous trams roll by. They are the soul of this city’s public transport, not relics of a bygone era like elsewhere. People walk their dogs. An old lady sits on a bench, reading a book. Even the usually frenzied cyclists take a minute to slow down and soak in the vibe. In the distance, there’s the sound of bat on ball.

A nets session is on. The players are dressed in Test-match whites. It’s open to public viewing. The superstars are training. There are people watching but there’s no heckling, no mad rush for a glimpse. The pace is unhurried.
It’s the calm before the storm. Come Thursday, for the first time in an Australian summer, the 90,000-capacity colosseum that is the Melbourne Cricket Ground will see a full house for a Boxing Day Test. Across this rare five-Test series, it has seemed as if the crowds just can’t stop pouring in. Even in Brisbane, where rain marred the contest on all days, the Gabba notched up the highest total attendance for a non-Ashes Test at 91,195.
Earlier, Adelaide broke the record for an India-Australia Test match as 1,35,012 total spectators turned up for the pink-ball Test. In Perth, the opening two days broke attendance records.
It’s become fashionable to run the Test format down but talk to young fans across venues and there’s no moaning over the format’s length. Here, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, it’s a good time to be a cricket traditionalist. Yet, peel away the layers and concerns linger over the future. This is a marquee series between two top teams on a strong financial footing and boasting a rich tradition. Even here, though, in the commentary boxes, in the members’ stands, among the top cricket brains soaking in the action, there are murmurs of concern.

Why are only the top teams playing so many Tests? Why are there so many uneven contests? Why is the format being allowed to fade away in the poorer cricketing nations? Why is it so hard to prepare a perfect Test-match pitch these days? Why aren’t players playing out sessions anymore? Should there be four-day Tests? And most important of all, will the format still be financially viable if India loses interest?
Through the course of this series, the questions have always lingered, and some of Australia’s top cricketing minds have weighed in on the issue. Greg Chappell, former India coach, former Australia captain, has taken the pragmatic view. He believes it’s a blessing, not a curse, that the big teams are playing the most Tests.
“It’s important for India, South Africa, Australia, England to at least keep playing Test cricket, otherwise the T20 format can completely take over,” he said. “The top players still love playing Tests, but it’s the rung just below that which is vulnerable. These players can play 20-over cricket, even 50-overs, but Tests are sometimes too hard for them. We forget how hard it is to actually play Test cricket.”

Chappell believes the decline of the West Indies, not the birth of One-Day Internationals, was a huge blow. “One of the tragedies has been losing West Indies. Sri Lanka have declined because they don’t produce enough fast bowlers. They just need to look towards India. In the last 15 years or so, India have made a focus of producing pacers. Now they’re beating everybody everywhere,” he said. Former Australia heavyweight Adam Gilchrist said the attitude of modern batsmen has altered the natural rhythm of the format.
“It’s been a really entertaining period of Test cricket to watch. Is it very difficult for batters to be defensive these days? I have a different theory here. They’ve got the ability to do it. At this level, they also have the skills to do it. It’s just a mindset thing,” he said.
“In general, teams are playing a more attacking style of Test cricket. There were teams in previous eras who could do that too, but there’s definitely been an effect of T20 cricket filtering into long-version cricket. The best players still know when they can slow down a bit, when they’ve got more time.”
Gilchrist is convinced four-day Tests would work better. “Michael Vaughan (former England captain) mentioned that maybe you can have four-day Tests. That will help with scheduling and workloads. Then you can put it in the calendar, like a weekend thing. It’s very hard to follow any Tests, where it’s on, when it’s on. Maybe there’s something in that idea to invest in. I think we’re going to see more and more shortened Tests just because of what we spoke about, the attacking part.”

The legendary Allan Border, an Australian institution, has a different view. “Sometimes the pitches dictate the contest,” he said. “Four-day Tests would be a bit artificial. You won’t get the 300s, the guys making the big scores. No one wants boring draws but with five days, you really get the time to resolve matters. The wickets have to be more natural. I’m also not sure Pakistan have declined along with the rest. They just need a good captain to bring it all together, like when they had Imran Khan. The West Indies have become a T20 team.”
In the end, like Chappell said, “the administrators are going to go with the money”. This has been an interesting year for Test cricket in general, with West Indies beating Australia in Brisbane, India winning in Cape Town, New Zealand whitewashing India, Bangladesh beating Pakistan in Pakistan, Pakistan beating England. Even India beating England at home was an absorbing series earlier in the year.
The BCCI poured money into the format to keep players interested. The World Test Championship race has been intriguing. However, smaller teams kept slipping away because of broadcaster disinterest. It’s unclear how the ICC’s mooted ‘Test match fund’ will work. Tests have ceased to be a level-playing field.
This has been a frenetic series so far, so perhaps the biggest question going into the MCG Test is, how long will it last? With huge demand for tickets, broadcasters would want a longer game but as always with Tests, there are no guarantees.
Happily, for now, Test cricket seems to be in its natural habitat here in Australia. Much like the Melbourne weather though – blazing hot one moment and bone-chilling the next – there could be turbulence ahead.