Graeme Smith
In between the jubilation and despair, something positive came out of the first test match between South Africa and Australia. It may not bring any comfort to Michael Clarke and his team, but the match could be a pivotal moment in the future of Test cricket.
Cutting through the decay that was Australia, what a great Test match it turned out to be. While the result wasn’t close, overall it was the most exhilarating match of cricket since the 2005 Ashes Test at Edgbaston and it is probably the most unusual game of cricket ever.
Not following all of this? Let’s review the test and all the action. Australia was sent into bat and South Africa dominated the Aussies until a momentum change through Michael Clarke’s brilliant 151 saw Australia make a respectable 284 in the first innings.
South Africa seemed to be cruising at 49-1 until Watson and Harris destroyed the top order and bowled out the Proteas for 96. Many believed that this was Test over and the Aussies had pretty much secured themselves 1-0 lead.
Seemingly in control, a combination of good bowling and poor batting saw Australia out for 47 leaving South Africa a chase of 236 which they chased down in spectacular fashion.
For too long, Test cricket has been dominated by the bat with pitches doctored to suit the batsmen. The test just gone was one where the bat didn’t get its way.
In the end it was a tiny anti-climax but for a good four hours, it was hard to leave your seat in the fear that you would miss three or four wickets. I have never seen Australia 13-4, let alone 22-9!
Golf is the only other sport where wild momentum swings like the one we’ve just experienced happen. What was shown over the last two and a half days was that Twenty20 and ODIs cannot produce the exhilaration of Test cricket. They never have and never will. This nonsense about Test cricket being boring holds no truth. Sure, there’s a place for T20 and the 50 over game, but Test cricket is just that: a test between bat and ball over 5 days. Players are pressed to the limit, tactics, technique and sheer bloody mindedness appeal. You don’t see this in the shortened versions.
Of all the records that were broken in the Test match, one stands out. For only the second time in the great history of cricket, all four innings were played on one day; the first since covered pitches.
Four innings of exhilarating cricket in one day? Give me that any day of the week over ODIs and Twenty20 cricket.
