Apologies for drawing a film analogy, but this is pretty relevant. In the early 1960s, Mosfilm, a Russian production company, decided to do a movie on Vladimir Bogomolov’s novel, Ivan. Halfway into the making of the film, Mosfilm realised that the project was going nowhere, while half the budget was already consumed. So they turned to Andrei Tarkovsky with a request to take care of the rest with the remaining budget available.
Tarkovsky, the Russian filmmaker, set certain conditions – he would make a completely new film with the budget available. He would change the entire cast and crew and he would come up with a completely new screenplay. What we got in 1962 was Ivan’s Childhood, a masterpiece, which until this day remains a benchmark for filmmaking.
On Sunday, about 6,000 miles apart, when two relatively unknown cricketers were turning out to be cricket’s joie de vivre, Ivan’s Childhood came to mind in relation to Test cricket. Like art cinema that has a limited viewership, Test cricket, too, has a niche audience. Market forces big up low-level commercial films that do business in hundreds of crores. But commercial cinema can never throw up an Ivan’s Childhood. Similarly, T20 cricket (read, the IPL and other franchise leagues) can never give us a Shamar Joseph or a Tom Hartley. This is where Test cricket, ignored by the authorities, trumps every other format, for it depicts life.
Also Read: IND vs ENG, 2nd Test: Will both Kuldeep and Sarfaraz Come in to Replace Jadeja?
Tears rolled down Brian Lara’s cheeks as West Indies beat Australia at the Gabba. The former West Indies great played 131 Tests and scored 34 centuries, including a 400. He has worked as a coach in the IPL. Lara had many moments of triumph and heartbreak on the field. Have you ever seen him crying? But this is what Test cricket can do to even the legends of the game. West Indies have won two T20 World Cups in the past 12 years. But a Test win in Australia after a gap of 27 years was feted with unfettered emotions.
The Brisbane Test told a rags-to-riches story, of a man who was a security guard only three years ago. Joseph hails from Baracara, a village in Guyana that had no internet until 2018. He had to take a five-hour boat ride to reach the nearest town. He had to be helped off the field on the third day of the second Test, when a Mitchell Starc yorker crashed into his toe. He came back and bowled 11.5 overs by dint of sheer will power. His match-winning 7-68 was a song of perseverance. Test cricket separates the men from the boys. T20/white-ball cricket doesn’t do that.
And this is a reason why Joseph’s post-game comment was so heartening. “I will always be available to play Test cricket, no matter how much money is out there.”
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
Another also-ran punched above his weight to bag a seven-for (7-62) and take England to a stunning victory in Hyderabad. No offence meant, but for the first three days of the first Test between India and England, Tom Hartley was an also-ran, bowling darts and looking hapless in the face of an Indian onslaught. Things suddenly changed on the fourth day, when the hosts batted in their second innings.
The 24-year-old left-arm spinner from Lancashire consistently found the good length area and hit the rough to run through India’s batting. If Hartley were playing in the IPL, for example, he probably would have been taken out of the attack after two overs. In a format, where the bowlers break sweat for four overs and quantity (read, economy) and not quality is sought-after, Hartley probably would have been made to cool his heels for the next few games. But like life, Test cricket gave him a second chance and he grabbed it with both hands.
Test cricket offers memories and evokes emotions that aren’t transient. Authorities are apathetic towards the format because they have surrendered to the demands of the market. And yet, as Brisbane and Hyderabad showed, via Joseph and Hartley, it remains an artform. It is like watching Tarkovsky’s Ivan’s Childhood or Ingmar Bergman’s The Silence or Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali – creations that will never die.
Also Read: Brendon McCullum: Shoaib Bashir comes into calculations for the next Test