Drawn cricket Tests & Bazball a dialectical relationship?
The cricket year is not yet at end. The Australia v India Test series starts on Friday (2.20am in the UK) and New Zealand v England is next week.
However Steve James (Times 19th November) has written an interesting stat focused survey of what is happening in cricket Test wise across the world.
2024 so far has seen just one drawn Test, between the West Indies and South Africa in August. That is an historic low.
Bazball may be the culprit or hero depending on your view. England under McCullum play to win (or more recently lose) rather than draw. The idea is to bring the pace and excitement of short form cricket into Tests.
Of course better pitch preparation and better drainage reducing rain delays have also helped but it means that five day Tests have become less common.
Personally and Ive been watching the cricket since the 1960s I think a hard fought draw can show cricket at its best, as a battle between bat and ball where neither quite prevails.
What I don’t like are one sided victories (even if the team I’m supporting wins) and runfests where huge first innings scores see a result achieved via short form methods in the second.
Of course there are wider issues. Firstly in many countries, the audience in person is not there for Tests and staging them is costly. Secondly we are talking men here. There should be a lot more Test Matches in the women’s game.
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