No, 22 professional athletes have not collectively forgotten how to play Test cricket. They just landed on a dodgy pitch.
As South Africa v India raced to the fastest finish in Test history, plenty of the usual analysis came out to play. Commentators and pundits alike decried a lack of ‘application’, labelling the occasion as yet another instance of the modern cricketer not knowing how to play an innings longer than 120 balls.
The argument is one that rears its head when any batting collapse happens, with the thrust being this general idea that cricketers nowadays lack the grit and fight to survive in conditions that offer a bit more for the bowler.
In the world of cricket, this tends to serve as a means to create more division between old and new. Players of yesteryear are lauded as hard-working batting geniuses, whilst the current crop are pampered prima donnas.
Perhaps adding fuel to the flames is the context surrounding this series. Cricket South Africa opted for just two Tests and are turning their focus to the domestic SA20 franchise league. It is during this league that they are sending a weakened team to tour New Zealand.
Instead of criticising the financial conditions which have forced this move, many have instead chosen to personally blame South Africa. When you add this to the mix, it creates the very easy argument that games like this happen when all you care about is T20 leagues.
The obvious issue with this argument, is that it totally ignores the playing conditions we have seen over the last two days of cricket. From the off, it was clear that there would be no consistency in terms of bounce. Hit the same spot three times and you could be rewarded with three different impact points.
If a batter cannot begin to assess which ball will hit their ankle and which their head, then it cannot be a surprise when the players collectively struggle.
If anything this highlights the supreme talent that modern cricket has to offer, let’s take Aiden Markram’s 106. On a pitch riddled with danger, Markram looked to attack. Striking at 103 and with 19 boundaries (17 fours and 2 sixes), we were treated to an example of different formats enriching the game. Markram is not your traditional Test opener, yet it was his approach that proved to be the most fruitful.
Not every moment in cricket serves as being a sign of the times or indictment of sorts, sometimes you just get served a bad pitch.
