West Indies Cricket Fans Forum
Test cricket should never be allowed to fade away
It can be foolish to write off any international cricket team as not worthy enough to play against top teams in a series.
This is the message that West Indies and Bangladesh have conveyed through their stunning victories over England and Australia respectively.
If Bangladesh go on to win the second Test that commences today (September 4) at Chittagong to record a clean sweep of the two-Test series and West Indies defeat England in the Lord’s Test match commencing September 7 to win the series 2-1, these two series will be referred to as the series of the underdogs.
Cricket is at its best when unexpected teams record victories. None gave Pakistan, a team starved of international cricket in their country, any chance of winning the 2017 Champions Trophy; but when they did it against all odds, the game of cricket looked majestic. Time and again cricket has proven that teams that are determined to win can do it surpassing any challenge.
It is this determination that got India stop the mighty West Indies in 1983 to win the World Cup, and the once minnows of cricket Sri Lanka emerged World Champions in 1996.
For the development of cricket, it is important that underdogs continue to produce stunning victories. Only then will the mighty look into the drawbacks in their team. Following their defeat to Bangladesh, Australians would have woken up to the reality that to be labelled as ‘formidable’ they will need to work more on playing spin better.
Similarly, England will have to look for ways to stop the West Indies players in full flow.
In fact, England lost the 2016 World T20 final simply because they let Carlos Brathwaite hit four sixes and win the final.
The International Cricket Council should ensure that weak teams as well as emerging teams like Afghanistan and Ireland get to play against formidable teams.
Australia must realise the importance of playing more matches in Bangladesh and not confine the Tests series to just two matches.
Cricket also needs an unpredictable team like West Indies, and all help must be provided to solve their internal problems. We all know that West Indies has always produced cricketers who are entertaining to watch.
Great contests are not only seen in high profile series like the Ashes alone but even weak teams can produce exciting cricket. Australia and England may come back strongly in their next Test match and hence Bangladesh and West Indies must rise and prove their victories were not just a fluke.
The Bangladesh-Australia and England-West Indies matches have also conveyed another message that Test cricket should never be allowed to fade away as it is this format that tests the complete skills in a cricketer and his ability to adapt to the fullest.
gulfnews.com
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