Mumbai: Test cricket can be pleasing to the eye if it is played on good pitches, batting great Sachin Tendulkar said Sunday, terming the 22-yard strip the longest format’s ‘heart’ and key to its revival.
To support his point, Sachin Tendulkar cited, as example, the surface used for the Ashes Test at Lord’s last week, which saw a fierce contest between Steve Smith and Jofra Archer.
“The heart of Test cricket is the kind of surface that you play on. If you provide good pitches, cricket cannot be boring, cannot be damp, and (there will always) be those exciting moments, exciting bowling spells, great batting and that is what people want to see,” Sachin Tendulkar said. He was speaking on the sidelines of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Mumbai Half-Marathon.
Tendulkar felt the duel between Archer and Smith, which included a nasty bouncer that felled the Australian ace, got viewers hooked and made Test cricket thrilling to watch.
“Steve Smith got injured unfortunately, that was a big blow to him but it was exciting when Jofra Archer challenged him. It suddenly shifted the focus to Test cricket,” said Tendulkar.
“At Lord’s they lost almost a day and half, but the Test match got riveting even on the last day when England picked those wickets and Australia had to survive. Test cricket suddenly became exciting and that is how it should be,” added the former Indian skipper.
After the ODI World Cup, teams have turned their focus on the maiden World Test Championships, which started with Australia taking on England in the Ashes.
“People almost kind of forgot that four-five weeks ago, there was World Cup being played in England, nobody is talking about that, everyone is talking about Test cricket,” the legendary batsman pointed out.
Tendulkar, who has played 200 Tests and amassed 15,921 runs, emphasised the need to prepare ‘interesting tracks’ to revive interest in the longest format.
“I think Test cricket is going to revive if we produce interesting tracks, but if the tracks are flat and dead then Test cricket is going to find its challenges. “I know this Test World Championship has been announced, but Tests have to be made interesting… that is the bottomline,” Tendulkar added.
Tendulkar, who is the highest run-getter in Tests, stressed on the art of leaving and defending the ball while heaping praise on Australian batsman Marnus Labuchange, who came in to the team after Steve Smith was ruled out.
“I have been watching a little bit of Ashes and I thought someone like Marnus Labuschagne has left the ball brilliantly, which is something that you don’t get to see in Tests often,” pointed out Tendulkar.
Meanwhile, on the half-marathon, Tendulkar said that it has grown in numbers over the years. “The response has been incredible, when we started there were 6,000 participants and today we ahave 20,000 which is a huge number. This movement has gathered momentum,” Tendulkar informed.
Tendulkar also said the country is gradually transitioning from a sports-loving nation to a sports-playing nation.
PTI