For years, Test matches have been the pinnacle of world cricket, the thing that young cricket fans all around the world dream about. To represent your home nation in an international fixture is a privilege in any sport, but to have three different formats in which to do it makes cricket special, T20, ODI and Test caps are all up for grab for those lucky and skilful enough to impress selectors, but for each format requires a different set of skills.
Test matches have been seen by those who don’t appreciate them as boring, but in the recent series between England and New Zealand, fans have been treated to some of the most entertaining and fun to watch cricket in a long while. With a huge impetus from the Cricket World Cup earlier this year, about batsmen being able to blast hundreds off fifty balls and for some being able to complete double-hundreds in one innings. This left people hooked on ODI cricket and wondering about what sort of innings these high-class players could up with next.
In the first Test at Lord’s this summer England played New Zealand in a two-match series that would prepare England for the upcoming Ashes series against Australia. The Test started well for the visitors, removing England’s top four for only 30 runs. This brought Ben Stokes and Joe Root to the crease with a job to do in just the first session. Many people expected both men to go into their shells and rebuild slowly over the day, but what happened next was both strange, but exciting. In the 30-odd overs they batted together both men managed to drag England up to 191. That was 161 runs at over 5 runs an over, which for a Test match is incredible. Eventually Root settled into an anchor role before being caught behind for 98, but Stokes played the game as he does, with illustrious swings and memorable strokes which took him to 92 before leaving a straight ball off Mark Craig. The runs Stokes ended up scoring came at a very healthy strike rate of 97.87 which in turn had changed the dynamic of match completely and allowed England to rebuild to a healthy total.
This came as a surprise to most and Stokes ended the day’s play with heaps of praise from pundits who had admired his style and flair when batting. Come the second innings, England had reached a decent total when Stokes came in, but they were precariously poised with a draw looking like the most likely option for the game until Stokes once again decided to take it upon himself to change the game dynamic once more. This time he went on to complete his second test match hundred in only 92 balls. This once again put England in the driving seat and it gave New Zealand a difficult run chase come the last day.
Eventually England managed to skittle out the visitors and win the test by 124 runs, which may seem like it simple enough, but it wasn’t. England had only around 60 balls left to bowl in the day, something which could be put down to the innings Stokes had played the previous day. If Stokes had played the typical Test match innings and used those 60 balls England had spare at the end of the match to build up to his hundred then New Zealand may have taken a draw instead of the comfortable England win.
Not only do run-a-ball innings have an effect on the outcome of a match, but they also provide entertainment to those watching. The majority of fans, especially younger ones prefer to watch boundaries being smashed around the ground, stumps flying everywhere and sensational catches being plucked out of the air rather than the traditional slow pace of a Test match. So not only do fast-paced innings have a winning effect on the team, they can also have a positive financial effect on the ECB who not only will make more money from ticket sales, but also gain a larger audience of young fans who will hopefully help make test cricket more popular for future generations.
There is another side to ODI like innings in a Test match situation and that’s it batting for longer periods in sticky situations. Understandably, positive batting is good to watch and helpful to the team, but what if in the first innings of the game Stokes had been caught out for a duck? Would the team have crumpled and been all out for 150 instead? For as much praise as Stokes got, there was criticism for his innings. If making Test hundreds was that easy surely someone would have worked that out by now? As entertaining as it was, Stokes and other batsman who adopt this similar frame of mind do need to be careful that they don’t end up becoming naive and ultimately giving away their wicket and batting themselves out of form in the long run.
Regardless of opinion, Stokes innings’ was a breath of fresh air for England and Test match fans alike and should be remembered as the innovative spectacle it truly was.
