By Dr. Flamingo
See This year, March came as a surprise. Suddenly, almost all the big matches were to be held as three-day affairs. While the schools that were promoted to the three-day game were thrilled and celebrated the idea of merry making, soaring spirits and of course the chance of a result, the old boys and even parents from the longest standing encounter, which has been playing the three-day format for almost fifty years, were heard shouting “that’s not fair”. The reason is understandable. These two schools had to play the big match for a hundred years to achieve “three-day” status. And suddenly, the tradition was ditched, and the qualification scrapped.
Leaving tradition aside, this move, encouraged by the Cricket Board, is part of the big picture, to develop the game at school level, so that a new generation of cricketers will emerge, with the strength and mindset to play the longer version of the game. Right now, the long format is not a
palatable idea for the emerging Sri Lankan cricketers. But then, this is to be expected. A lot of these cricketers who make it into national level have grown up on a diet of the shorter formats of the game. Especially the shortest.
IPL DREAM FORTUNES
To boys who’ve grown up on IPL dreams, and the riches and the stardom that come with it, the longer format – Test Cricket, is seen as a long drawn and drab affair. So, the problem at hand is much more than making the two-day big match a three-day affair to lay the foundation for the future. A system change is required, encouraging kids to embrace the longer format as a standard to aim at, to train and to gear up for. But resurrecting our test cricket may be a far greater task than we can imagine.
Running around after the red ball in white for five days may not be the kind of cricket that can inspire a younger generation dreaming of a fancy car after landing one IPL contract. Seeing kids like Suryavanshi stealing the IPL spotlight this season is also going to inspire many of the young dreamers of a future in the shortest format of the game. But all is not lost. They say timing is everything. Kohli’s recent retirement from the longer format of the game has been gaining a lot of publicity in Social Media sphere.
Kohli’s ode to test cricket will hopefully fuel ambition among young hopefuls and make them see the importance of donning the whites for a 5-day red ball game for our country. When Kholi said “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life”, he meant it. He’s been a treat to watch, too. Uncompromising, always fueled by a winning mentality and ultra-competitive on the field.
Breaking the unwritten rules in the Sri Lankan big match doctrine and uprooting tradition to make the two-day encounters three-day encounters may not be palatable for the two schools who had to adhere the traditions of a hundred games to qualify. However, this move will hopefully produce results in the long term. And we may finally find a new generation of players who have it in their bones to be able to last five days on a cricket field, and will come to understand that there is a clear difference between the short format, the shortest format and the long format.
FIRE THE IMAGINATION
The one thing that will stand in the way though, is the IPL. The riches that come with it will always fuel the imaginations of the young and aspiring cricketers. So, merely making a two-day big match a three day may not nearly be enough to change our test game. Let’s see how it pans out.