Test cricket is what the game is all about

Test cricket or the established game is what Test cricket is all about.

One-day and Twenty20 cricket is mockery fostered on the game to bring in the bags of money, paying scant respect to Test cricket.

Test cricket from the time it was introduced to the world by the Brits, has been the revered game and in the good old days all Test playing countries yearned to play this game.

Over the years several outstanding cricketers have walked the Test playing field like colossus and many are the exciting moments that they produced and left records that are still intact.

The best of Test cricket was contested for by England and Australia.

These two countries keenly fought the matches and they played with great joy and enjoyed the games.

Then countries like West Indies, South Africa, New Zealand, India and Pakistan entered the fray, with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe joining in and contesting the revered game.

But with the longer version of the game tending to become a bore even after the teams fiercely contesting on all five days, the International Cricket Council, instead of moving in and introducing new innovations into the game to make it interesting and bringing in the spectators who were deserting, tossed in the 50 over games and as if that was not enough gave birth to the Twenty20 mockery.

Now these two versions of the game did sweet nothing to improve the game, instead it brought in mind boggling sums of money, that not only enriched the players, but also the all important cricket boards and the ICC. Today these games have become necessary evils, while Test cricket has sadly been made to suffer the step-motherly treatment. Why this was allowed to happen is inexplicable.

Today all Test playing countries seem to be concentrating on the limited-overs style of the game. Teams prepare in earnest and hardly seem to be concerned with the longer version of the game Sad.

To the Sri Lankan cricketers and now that they have lost the Test series to India by Two Tests to nil, will be playing the Twenty20 and 50 over internationals also against India in India. Now these are different ball games and winning these games are no big deals. How can the Sri Lankan cricketers compensate for their disgraceful showing in the established game?

If the performances of the Sri Lankan cricketers in the Three Tests are an indication, then they will not have it easy against the marauding Indians and are likely to meekly surrender this time round too.

Sri Lanka it is said are building a team to try and win the 50 over World Cup tournament that is to be played in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh next year. The Twenty20 World Cup in England early this year evaded them, because they lacked what was required to win a final.

They did well to enter the final and when everyone was expecting them to dump Pakistan and win that final for the first time, considering that they had beaten the Pakistanis in an early round game, they choked and allowed the Pakistanis to have the last laugh.

If what we noticed in the Two Test losses to Indian are an indication, then it seems as though everything is not right in the team. It is the duty of those running the game here to move in, and if things are wrong to put them right and not allow the wounds to get infested and become a cancer.

While we are not trying to hurt or belittle the Sri Lankans the gut feeling is that they will come out firing all cylinders and play better because winning these games a lot of money could be pocketed unlike winning Test matches.

Anyway here's wishing the Lankan cricketers success so that winning the Twenty20 and 50 over internationals could be some consolation to them, now that they are still licking the wounds of those Two Test defeats by innings by India.

West Indies hit back

The West Indies cricketers who just caved in to Australia in the First Test by innings in Brisbane,hit back with a vengeance to take honours in the Second Test in Adelaide.

No one would have begrudged the cricketers from the Caribbean had they won this Test, because they deserved to win after dominating the Test until the final ball was bowled.

Dwaynne Bravo that all rounder who has still to play to his potential, scored a delightful hundred in the first innings and in the second innings skipper Chrys Gayle played what is called a captain's knock in scoring a century to hold the batting together.

The Windies set the Aussies a daunting task of scoring 330 for victory, which they would have attempted had they had their former dashers in Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist.

But that is the past and the Aussies did not attempt and although losing early wickets did well to hang on and play out a draw conceding the honours to the West Indians. Now that the Windies have shown what they are capable of, one hopes that they will fire all cylinders and stuff the kangaroos and bring back memories of their golden days in the game where no other team could stand up or give them a game when players of the calibre of Garfield Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Gordon Greenidge, Roy Fredricks, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Desmond Haynes and Basil Butcher wielded the willow with contempt and Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts. Colin Croft, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner who is the present manager of the team, Keith Boyce, Wayne Daniel and Patrick Patterson fired terrifying pace and bounce at the opponents and Lance Gibbs had them in a flat spin.

Umpire Benson

What made umpire Benson who was standing in the Second Test between Australia and West Indies to quit and fly out of Australia in a hurry midway during the Test in Adelaide?

Some reckon that it was due to illness. Many others think that instead of wanting to be humiliated by the Umpires Decision Referral System he deserted.

It is the duty of the International Cricket Council to probe the matter, get to the bottom of it and to issue a statement giving the true story as to why umpire Benson quit.

We hope the ICC will begin batting immediately!