Why play test cricket? Is the IPL making specialist Test Cricketers an afterthought?

One of the most rewarding events in the worldwide cricket calendar took place in March; suprisingly not the World Cup final or an Ashes test match, but the IPL auction. More than any single game, this annual event can change a players life, creating overnight millionaires for a mere 2 months of work!

Today marks the start of what is domestic crickets Premier competition; the best paid period of time for any cricketer as the worlds marquee players gather from all corners of the globe for the swashbuckling twenty twenty format of the IPL.

Cricket, while providing a comfortable life for those at the top end of the game, is not blessed with the funds enjoyed by some of the nations most popular team sports such as rugby union and football . With English county sides struggling for supporters in the longer first class format, the introduction of  Twenty Twenty cricket has created a new age trendy version of the game, which sees supporters flock to venues countrywide.

In Indian culture cricket has always been at the forefront and they have taken to Twenty Twenty cricket as vicariously as any other nation. Whether it be the literal millions of supporters watching cricket from the comfort of their homes or the large numbers who pack the stadiums,  India was always going to be the perfect place for the worlds premier display of the shorter format of cricket.

While there are extremely skilled players whose abilities lend themselves to a successful career in all three formats of international cricket,  the Chris Gayle’s, Kevin Pietersens and Shane Warne’s;  not all of the worlds greatest players’ games lend themselves to the shortened format.

Alistair Cook recently relinquished his role as England test captain and has to his point enjoyed a truly incredible test career. This career will surely end with him capturing the mantle of being the top England test run scorer of all time. He is a specialist test cricketer; while he is a wealthy individual and will have enjoyed endorsements and perks alike while England’s main man, he has never enjoyed the type of instant pay off enjoyed by those in the IPL.
The IPL operates with teams bidding for any new players that have made themselves available for the tournament, or those who are now out of contract since last years competition. The amount of money that a single player attracts in the winning bid becomes the amount that the particular player earns for his season in the IPL.

To continue to use Cook as an example, while one of the best players of all time and a legend of English cricket, teams would have no interest using their funds to acquire his services regardless of his history in test cricket.

In stark contrast English fast bowler Tymal Mills has just 4 England T20 caps to his name. Mills was bought at auction for 1.4 million pounds. While the amount of caps won is not a fair reflection of his skill, a chronic back problem being the main cause of his failure to participate in the other formats, the fact that someone of such little international pedigree and experience can attract such a bid questions the future of the longer format.

Mills, while talented is not going to go down as an all time great of the game. Regardless of this case he is a bowler who can bowl at speeds approaching 100mph. Such exceptional speed is a skill not shared by many in the game illustrating a unique skill which is attractive to those owning IPL franchises.

In a competition that thrives on excitement, power and speed, in a game centred on attracting viewers rather than traditions, Mills is a hot commodity. The cultured, steady elegance of Cook’s batting skills have no place in a competition dominated by powerful behemoths, ‘sex sells’ and those attracted to the IPL are crying out for sixes and wickets not a slow skilful battle of mentality and skill between bat and ball.

With the wages available at the top end of international test cricket being nowhere near the level of the IPL, it indicates that those hoping to make a career in cricket would be better served practicing their slog shot batting, their short format effective bowling techniques , power, pace , athleticism rather than the skills that international cricket has been built upon for generations.

Cricket is a team game that has evolved through generations, the game promotes variety in the way people play the game. There are different styles of bowling techniques and tactics; batsmen in different roles suit different abilities and styles of batting. A great cricket team is one with skilled performers who have a balance and blend of different player types and mentalities.

While Twenty Twenty cricket is an exciting wonderful spectator sport, it most certainly in such a short format has less room for certain players of a particular style who excel in long mental battles and as a result, celebrated player types may disappear as children grow up wanting to play Twenty Twenty cricket and become overnight millionaires.

The IPL and its many mimics, the big bash etc are incredible competitions that capture the imagination of fans worldwide. This can only be good for cricket on the whole as the game continues to gain new fans. Concerns must be that the growth of

Twenty Twenty cricket could certainly have a detrimental effect on Test cricket, less exciting to the masses who may not enjoy some of the purer aspects of cricket test cricket has always been seen as the pinnacle. The mismatch in wealth of the two formats must therefore be monitored and steps taken to ensure that test cricket does not suffer as a result. Players are choosing the wealth of playing in the IPL over representing their nations in test series, this if not addressed will ultimately lead to the death of test cricket.

How do England capitalise on their recent excellence?

With all if the negative press surrounding England after the Kevin Pietersen saga and a lackluster series performance in the West Indies, confidence was low and few held any hope of success this summer. With the outstanding Australian side laying in wait with ashes around the corner, England had one last chance to reignite some passion into its supporters. They certainly did that.

While there were positive signs in the test series draw with New Zealand, it was the limited overs team that made believers of England fans once again. Playing in a style which enthused excitement, led by young cricketers desperate to make their mark on the cricketing world, England overcame an exceptional New Zealand team (world number 2) in one of the highest quality series in living memory. Victorious in the one day series 3-2 and following this with triumph in the stand alone 20/20 game, England put the world on notice that they intend to maximise the potential of this side and climb back atop the rankings. To perform admirably in a solitary series is one thing, but in order to maintain such progress there are some key areas to pursue.

A youthful England team built around the experienced one day specialist Eoin Morgan celebrate an outstanding series victory

Attitude

England needs look no further than their recent opponents New Zealand for inspiration. In 2013 New Zealand adopted a new ethos and approach headed by the entertaining Brendon McCullum. in. They proceeded to play attacking cricket from the offset, believing in their own ability to win games while backing themselves regardless of opposition. In playing to their own strengths and believing in their attacking mentality, New Zealand were reminiscent of the Australian side from the 2000s that swept all before them with gusto and a relentless attacking mindset. England have now set out their stall to play in the same way. With a team full of pace, youth and exuberance paired with positive big hitting batsmen, England have all of the tools needed to compete at the highest echelons of the game. The test of their credentials will come when this approach inevitably at some point fails and creates a setback. How England react to this will determine just how far this team can go with perseverance in their style key to success; there is no place in the modern limited overs game for conservatism.

Adaptation

While imperative that England play their own expressive style of cricket, it is important that they are willing to adapt to the differing conditions found across the world. Players that have performed well in English conditions will quite rightly be retained in the squad and need support to maintain their confidence, however the selection for away series’ must always take into account a players suitability and ability to adapt to new pitch conditions. There are certain venues and pitches that will not suit swing bowling, some may not turn for the spinners and others may suit spin bowling above pace; selectors need not shy away from making changes to the team based around conditions. Players must learn that the team comes first and if you have not shown the ability to adapt and perform effectively on a certain surface, selection must reflect this. There is no place for keeping players in the team purely for the reason of team spirit, a team reaches the top by making the most of all of the talent at its disposal.

Young Superstars such as Joe Root (pictured) and Joss Buttler encapsulate the positive style in which England must move forward.

 

Acceptance

Together with the need to adapt the team to different conditions, it is also vital that there is an acceptance that not all good cricketers are suited to limited overs cricket. England themselves, captained in the test game by Alistair Cook, are a great example of this. There are certain players including Cook in the test team, who do not fit the profile of cricketer needed to succeed in an England side determined to play expansive limited overs cricket. For too long there has been a cross over between the test and limited overs teams. While not a problem for those players that suit both forms of the game, clearly the cross over has had a negative effect on England’s limited over’s performance due to persistence in selection of unsuitable players. Modern limited overs cricket is characterised by athleticism, creativity, pace and quick run scoring. England need not be afraid of picking specialist players for different formats of the game.

The addition of a Rashid, a natural spin bowler who can turn the ball both ways was a positive move by selctors.

Aggression

Limited overs cricket is not always going to be the run fest we saw in the recent world cup and ODI series between England and New Zealand, the pitches used in these series are suited to runs being scored at a fast pace whereas the sub continent may create lower scoring dustier pitches. It is however a fact that modern players are becoming more athletic, the equipment is improving and the game as a result is being tailored towards exciting high scoring and aggressive cricket. In modern sport, sex sells, and in this instance high scoring exciting cricket is improving popularity of the game worldwide. In order to keep up with the development of modern one day cricket in which a run a ball is becoming the minimum required, aggression and tenacity is key. Batsmen must work on innovation and scoring quickly while bowlers must improve their variety second guessing the batsmen in a game whereas now batsmen hold most of the key advantages.

With two years of development heading into the next world cup, England have identified the path and the young side that they hope will take them to glory. This process will not be perfect overnight and persistence in style but also in the personnel is key. England have a raw talented side with the potential to reach the very top in limited overs cricket, they must learn from past mistakes and not be left behind as the game continues to evolve at a rapid rate. The future looks bright and the nation will be hoping that the new-found confidence of the limited overs team translates to those in the test side in order to regain the ashes later this summer.

Kevin Pietersen: Is IPL killing test cricket

Just over a year has passed since the fateful ashes tour in which England were embarrassed, with the team subsequently at war and Kevin Pietersen banished from international cricket. This led to the controversial autobiography that lifted the lid on the tour and gave an insight to the public on politics involved. The KP book has divided opinion of pundits and the general public, it has been at times honest, open, vindictive and outrageous. The book has served its purpose telling his story while also being near the knuckle promoting sales and discussion aplenty. While the main headlines to emerge from the book have surrounded KPs ego and the battle he faced with Flower’s ‘regime of fear’; one telling subplot to emerge from his ramblings is the place of the IPL and its effect on what was the worlds number one cricketing nation at the time of its emergence, both in test and shorter forms of cricket. With the new emergence of 20/20 cricket tournaments in the Caribbean and more recently with the big bash in Australia being a roaring success it would seem that this may be a more common occurrence moving forwards.

In a world setting, the IPL runs alongside that of the test game. Teams such as the West Indies have many players who are household names in the shorter formats headed by greats such as Chris Gayle. As a nation in test cricket they are not at the top level any longer and when the conflict between whether to play test cricket for the West Indies or IPL has arisen there has been only one winner creating meaningless test matches. This takes away from the test game as no longer are the nations fielding their strongest sides all year round. While the IPL lasts just a few months, this could be manageable with less important ‘development test series’ perhaps occurring around that time of the year. However with the Big Bash and the Caribbean 20/20 competitions emerging it is becoming more likely that there will soon be franchise 20/20 cricket all year round leading to players having to make the choice; this endangers the test game as barring the very top series among the top teams such as the Ashes and high profile tours in South Africa or India, players will likely chase the wealth and excitement of the franchise game.

Gayle has become a main attraction of 20/20 all over the world and rarely plays in test cricket

As the IPL emerged and began to ingrain itself at the top of the cricket calendar, England as a team were developing slowly into the best team in world cricket across all three forms of the game but specifically in the test arena, which at the time was still thought of as perhaps the most prestigious. Between 2009 and 2011 England battled their way up the rankings to number one by summer 2011. After regaining the ashes in summer 2009, they went unbeaten in a test series until early 2012 beating Australia home and away together with India, while drawing a series away in South Africa in the process. England were also crowned 20/20 world champions in 2010 during what was a golden era of English cricket. While a team is successful, cracks and personal differences can be papered over but as we’ve now found throughout this period, tension was growing in England’s world beating team developing from such issues as egos and the effect of participation in the IPL.

England were on top of the world after victory in the 2011 Ashes tour in Australia. Tension was bubbling among the camp but in a winning team differences can be put aside.

In wider terms the emergence of the IPL could influence people’s goals in cricket and could signal a shift in how young cricketers grow up. For generations young cricketers have practiced from a young age wanting to don the baggy green of Australia or to get themselves on the lords honours board; with the new found wealth of the IPL it could be the case that fame and fortune begins to overtake such pure dreams in the game. The pinnacle may no longer be ashes victory or World Cup winners and may merely be to play in the IPL and earn millions.

Together with wealth and goals in the game, the emergence of the IPL also brings with it a whole new breed of cricketer. Test cricket has long relied on its great sides containing a great variety of styles each contributing to its success. With the pendulum swinging very much in the direction of twenty twenty cricket, certain styles of cricketer are to become marginalised. In test cricket greats such as at Atherton and Gower were celebrated for their ability to stay at the crease all day, accumulating runs while frustrating the opposition, in the modern era Trott and Cook have filled these roles to incredible effect resulting in England becoming the best test side in world cricket. This role is not one that is compatible with the pace and excitement of twenty twenty cricket, leaving great players only suitable to one form of the game. The theater of the 6 hitting and fast bowling yorkers has begun to eclipse the traditional innings builders in the purist’s sense of the game. Far more one day and 20/20 styles of cricket are played now than those of the test game; In years gone by players such as Alistair Cook would’ve been celebrated as being at the very top of the game. Regardless of people’s opinions of his captaincy, Cook enjoys an amazing record at a young age and is on course to become the most successful test batsmen ever to play for England. With such media focus and column inches dedicated now on the shorter forms of the game, in which he is less successful, he is not a celebrated as maybe he should be.

Returning to England’s demise, one thing that has been identified by KP is that there was a sense of bullying in the camp. It has been suggested that one of the camps/cliques that was most intimidating was the bowlers. While from KP’s point of view the bowlers could be hostile and bully new England players, there have been murmurings of how KP s ego was evident around the camp and how he may have flashed his money around after receiving his riches gained after being drafted for £1.4m. Obviously this is opinion based and the players egos will lead to them all trying to shift any blame. It can be suggested that this may have been one of the major turning points to the break down in the England test cricket camp. The timing of the IPL is very interesting when assessing why problems and a battle of egos may have occurred. At the time that KP was drafted as a top draft in the IPL for £1.4million, England’s test team were set to encounter a home test series against the West Indies. This series boasted little relevance in the grand scheme of things and the West Indies were depleted themselves by the IPL; the results would tell us little about England’s progress as a result.

Pietersen captained his side in the IPL rubbing shoulders the global stars of the game such as Shane Warne, making £1.4m in doing so.

There were players in the England camp including Swann, Broad and Anderson who were keep to play in the IPL but went undrafted while players more familiar in the short forms game such as Morgan and Pietersen were drafted. During the 8 week period those taking part in the IPL would receive their draft fee as wages for the participation in the series whereas those undrafted would merely pick up their central England contractual wage and play more days of cricket in a throwaway test series while the crust of the world best players shone in the red hot spotlight of the IPL.

Anderson, Broad and Swann were at the time 3 of the world top ten test bowlers and had been blowing teams away and cementing their place at the very top of the games test bowling attacks. In addition they were part of a successful England 20/20 team that would go on to win the World Cup, with Swann arguably the best twenty twenty spin bowler in the world. For them to be playing in a throwaway series while KP, a player who himself was a world beater with the bat but seen as an equal In The England team, earned 1.4million for 8 weeks work, was always likely to create tension.

At the time of the IPL launch if there was one man who was perfect for the IPL it was Kevin Pietersen. His brash, creative and highly aggressive game was perfect to thrill the crowds and his larger than life personality only adds to the spectacle. While it is no fault of KP himself that he was such a hot commodity for IPL teams, it is almost human nature that those bowlers who feel at his level, even if less suitable for the IPL perhaps, would feel jealous not to be involved. This is something that is manageable when times are good and teams are winning, however as with any negative results or if KP began to fail, cracks start to emerge and this was a seed of conflict that could rip any dressing room apart.

With different forms of the game now meaning lots of a different cricketer styles needed for each nation, and as a result massive personnel  changes between each form, there are larger, and to a certain extend less bonded cricket teams than ever before. Conflict is more rife and with the new found wealth available in the game, ego and selfish play is at an all time high. While the IPL has created a great attraction to the viewers and sponsors, its impact on test cricket, the form in which international competition is most revered, has been disastrous. With a team as good as the England team mentioned being ripped apart from within together with the growing tendency of many cricketers to abandon their nations’ test tours in order to chase wealth in the shorter game franchises, test cricket is in quick decline. While not setting out to directly, the IPL and future franchise led competitions such as the Big Bash are destroying test cricket.

Is Cook too safe? Is this an ‘English’ problem?

As a huge summer of sport for England against the old enemy Australia approaches boiling point, teams from both nations are being studied and analysed thoroughly both in the media and by their opponents. While player comparisons are compiled and tactics have been drawn, one subject that has been at the forefront of many peoples minds in recent weeks has been the decision of Cook as captain to regularly play very safe in order to ensure his team does not have any chance of losing.

After England failed to win the away series in New Zealand earlier this year, pressure was on for England to deliver a pre ashes confidence boost in a 2 match series on home turf.

It was firstly a decision at the Headingley test against New Zealand when 1-0 up in the series, which disturbed many fans and pundits alike. Both were unhappy that Cook didn’t have the killer instinct to go for the win earlier after England had skittled New Zealand out in less than a day, and failed to enforce the follow on even with the risk of bad weather to come. Rather than be confident of the fact that they had steamrollered through the NZ team hours before, and could do it again, Cook decided to ensure that the series was safe at the expense of the individual test. In the ICC champions trophy semi final weeks later, England got off to a quite magnificent start reducing South Africa to 86-8 with Anderson and Tredwell wreaking havoc. While making some great decisions to get his team to such a position, it was the decisions after that which split fans and pundits alike. With the SA number 10 coming in to bat and Anderson, England’s most devastating wicket taker of all time in one day internationals, having 3 overs remaining of his allotted 10, a ruthless captain would have brought Anderson back on to clean up the tail. However Cook’s decision to bring on his part time bowlers Bopara and Root, in order to use up their overs, showed that even at 86-8 Cook was still wary of losing the game. What would have been expected as a quick clear up of the tail turned into what was approaching a 100 run partnership, putting unexpected longevity into a game which could have been wrapped up far earlier.

The fact is that on both of these occasions England rallied to win the game and therefore some credit must be given to Cook in that his decisions ultimately paid off and didn’t cost England the win. However at the very top end of sport where margins between success and failure are so small, the “great” teams are those who know when to be ruthless, show a killer instinct and have confidence in their own ability. It is a well known cliché in sport that those who are at the highest level let their opponents worry about them rather than being concerned how they may lose, as they trust in their own ability to be the best. This is a killer instinct that the great Australian team of the 90s and early 00s had in abundance. When ahead they punished teams and trusted their own ability to win from any position; they were not beaten until it was an absolutely impossible task in which case they then settled for a draw. This killer instinct is one which England have failed to display lately and is one that creates doubts in their ability to win the back to back ashes series coming up, even despite the fact you’d be pressed to find even the most passionate Australian that would disagree that England are the far superior side in terms of talent.

Steve Waugh’s all conquering Australian team dominated all forms of cricket for over a decade. Their confidence was symbolised by their ability to score at a very high run rate resulting in them often winning test matches within four days, and chasing scores which lesser teams would decide not to pursue instead battling solely for a draw.

Is this down to Cook himself, or the England players and staff? Or is it perhaps something which is ingrained far deeper into English sport ideals?  England as a sporting nation are known to be the great underachievers, the country that has talent but doesn’t reach their potential and most relevant to this issue: a nation who plays safe and often does well without reaching the top. It is very rare that England are in any sport, known as the great entertainers. It is most often the case that they create a strong defensive foundation and try to win by taking only calculated high percentage risks.

A sport other than cricket in which this has been highlighted is Rugby Union. Even when England were quite clearly the best team in the world when winning the 2003 world cup, success was built around a strong defensive foundation in which they kicked for the corners, relied on Wilkinson’s amazing kicking of penalties and generally played low risk rugby. The team was a great one of that there is no doubt, however the mentality of England shone through. In recent years when not possessing a great team ready to challenge southern hemisphere supremacy, England have continued with a safety first style of play. In this style the “flair” positions in the team, namely those in the back 3 and the centres,  lack the skills, flair and vision of those playing the same positions for the other leading nations. England tend to line up with wingers who are at least as good defensively as they are attacking, not game winners but rather game savers. Arguments may be made that the English talent pool doesn’t possess flair players in such positions, but what is clear is that English mentality means that England are not prepared to take a risk in order to have the chance to reach that top level of the game. A level in which teams who trail their top level opponents are able to express their talent and flair to score tries and claw opponents back, at the risk of losing by a slightly larger margin. It is a fine balance but one in which teams that are winning trust their own ability to win by more points rather than hanging on valiantly to a small victory.

In the past week, at the under 20s world cup semi final, England’s youngsters dominated their New Zealand counterparts in a style which is more in keeping with the heritage of their opponents. Unlike their senior counterparts there was no fear in expressing themselves, and their rugby was both exciting and ruthless as they comfortably beat the pre tournament favourites in magnificent style. This begs the question as to whether such exuberance and flair is actually coached out of youngsters as they enter the senior international fold, as they adapt to the teams culture. Very rarely have players in the ilk of the explosive, tricky Jason Robinson cement themselves in an England 15 in recent times, and even when they do it seems that they slowly become more hesitant in possession as a result of being too scared to trust in their own ability at the risk of giving up possession or points (Ashton is often guilty of this).

Wallaby legend Campese believed in 2003:Boring England tarnish game as “Rugby needs to entice people in. Here in Australia it has to compete with league and Aussie Rules, and the way England play just sends people away in droves.”

A new coaching structure and team have in recent years been implemented and it will be fascinating to see whether focus will be on playing a more expansive game, as displayed in the youth teams and recently by a young England side in destroying Argentina on tour; or whether as the past has often shown us, the players will adapt to England’s conservative style. It can be argued that there is evidence to suggest that young players do not arrive at the national team in such a mindset, and therefore could be the case that it is a mentality thrust upon the players.

What is more worrying is that addition to the above sports, English conservatism seems to have also been adopted by the national football team. Mercurial young talents such as Matt Le Tissier, Joe Cole and to some extent Wayne Rooney have either, to coin a phrase ‘had their wings clipped’ while playing for the national side, or in Le Tissier’s case, been left out all together due to the expressive but luxury natured style in which they play the game. In an era dominated by the fluid, interchanging, expressive systems implemented by Brazil and Spain alike, England have stood still so to speak. England are often a clear bet in any major tournament to reach the quarter finals, however to achieve anything more than this England must beat sides packed of individual brilliance. The problem has often not been a lack of talent but rather a lack of mental toughness and ruthlessness. In teams containing the individual brilliance to match their rivals, English flair players have often been stifled by having to stick to structured positions in a rigid defensive formation(often 442), in direct contrast to the interchanging fluidity of the brilliant Spanish team.

A great example which epitomises this point is that England have recently begun to mirror the top teams in the world in terms of formation. Namely by playing a 4 2 3 1 system in which two defensive midfielders shield the back four in order to allow the front 4 players to express themselves and be match winners. Progress at last we thought; we were wrong. The difference in England’s system is that they play one striker (Rooney), One attacking winger (usually Walcott), but then usually insist on picking a defensive winger (often Milner) and a central midfielder pushed slightly further forward (Lampard). In a system based around having 6 defensive players and four very attacking individuals ahead of them, England prefer the stability in changing such a system to a 7 or 8 defensive player bias to just 2 or 3 attackers. While this strategy means that the England side rarely loses, it also results in them drawing many games, and when coming up against the better sides they fall short. It is of no coincidence that the only time in the most recent European championships that England outplayed their opposition, was after they fell behind against Sweden and proceeded to bring on attacking substitutes resulting in 4 attacking players being asked to express themselves and attack, and in turn an England win. Until the management starts to believe in the quality of their own players, and play a style in which they impose their own ability on the opposition, England will never be ruthless enough to win or challenge for a major trophy

Even with all of the above having been taken into account, it is by no means conclusive that more success would result from a style incorporating more risk; however confidence in the teams’ own ability epitomises any top team and can only be of help. Until English teams have such a confidence there is a good chance that they will fail to reach the very top of any team sport. Evidence points to the fact that at least in recent times, an ‘Englishness’ has become evident in which teams have adopted a sense of caution and a style of safety first. With the cricket side in particular on the cusp of being known as a truly great side, all that is missing is a confidence, bordering on arrogance, that they are the best team in the world and one that believes in it’s own ability to always get the job done no matter the task. Only then will they become a team to rival the Australia side of the last decade, as true greats. It may be the case that rather than criticise decisions made by captains such as Cook, it would be more beneficial to challenge the culture in English sports which may have shaped his decisions.