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Test Cricket Zindabad!

Probably the best day of test cricket around the world in a longtime.

2 brilliant closely fought test, ultimately games won on grit and determination. This is why its called test cricket.
 
Probably the best day of test cricket around the world in a longtime.

2 brilliant closely fought test, ultimately games won on grit and determination. This is why its called test cricket.
What a game of Test cricket it has been! A heroic spell from Tom Hartley.
 
T20 cricket can never match today. Both matches were thrillers.
come on now. Atleast T20 match can be fully watched and enjoyed.

Majority of us just watched only one session of a game here and will be calling it the best day of cricket, without even watching the whole game.

its just that, some of the fans try hard to defend test cricket.
 
come on now. Atleast T20 match can be fully watched and enjoyed.

Majority of us just watched only one session of a game here and will be calling it the best day of cricket, without even watching the whole game.

its just that, some of the fans try hard to defend test cricket.
Isn't that the beauty of test cricket that you can tune in for an hour or two at various points of a test match and be blown over by the sheer drama that a T20 / 50 over game cannot replicate
 
Isn't that the beauty of test cricket that you can tune in for an hour or two at various points of a test match and be blown over by the sheer drama that a T20 / 50 over game cannot replicate
limited overs can replicate it better . There are many limited over games that were a great watch.

No one watches a whole test match and only look at the score cards and than exagerate the performances of players based on false assumptions just by reading a score card.

Out of 20 test games, there are 4 or 5 that have an interesting LAST session. Based on that LAST session, people will go crazy and call it the best thing ever.

Trust me, had India won this match, the usual pretend test fans here from pakistan would had called it a boring affair and blamed India for creating a rank turner. If Australia had defeated the West Indies today, it would had been a usual day in business

We celebrate test cricket only when the under dog somehow comes close to win, and ignore it when the usual winner wins it.
 
Is and will remain the ultimate test and it creates a legacy that lasts decades. Bi lateral T20 has a legacy of 48hrs and ODis has about the same. We need good wickets and the players will do the rest
 
Beating a strong team in their dens in test matches - Ultimate achievement in cricket. What a day for cricket.
 
Comfortably the greatest single day of Test cricket in my lifetime although india lost.

Two underdog teams winning away from home against two of the best Test sides in the world with debutants ending up as match winners. Incredible!
 
I still can't believe that shot by Siraj with just 29 runs to win. Seriously lacking in brain matter that fella.
 
Test cricket is alive and well!

Pakistan Cricket is dead and buried
 
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limited overs can replicate it better . There are many limited over games that were a great watch.

No one watches a whole test match and only look at the score cards and than exagerate the performances of players based on false assumptions just by reading a score card.

Out of 20 test games, there are 4 or 5 that have an interesting LAST session. Based on that LAST session, people will go crazy and call it the best thing ever.

Trust me, had India won this match, the usual pretend test fans here from pakistan would had called it a boring affair and blamed India for creating a rank turner. If Australia had defeated the West Indies today, it would had been a usual day in business

We celebrate test cricket only when the under dog somehow comes close to win, and ignore it when the usual winner wins it.
If you had actually had bothered to watch all of both test matches it wasnt just about the final day, both tests were very competitive, in which the advantage of the game changed On each day.

This wasn't just about the underdog winning the games.
 
2 fantastic matches.

Test cricket remains the greatest and most testing format.

The money is in the T20 format, but the recognition is if you perform in Test cricket.
 
Legends are made in test cricket when you help your team win in strong opposition's den.

Bravo to two teams , winning in the two toughest place. Both matches were thrilling.
 
come on now. Atleast T20 match can be fully watched and enjoyed.

Majority of us just watched only one session of a game here and will be calling it the best day of cricket, without even watching the whole game.

its just that, some of the fans try hard to defend test cricket.

I don't question T20 cricket's financial value. It's not even close as Test cricket is indeed fading.

But in terms of fulfillment, I think Test cricket offers a lot more and it does not have to be watched from start to finish. You can watch here and there and still retain more value from the experience.

The general grit, strategy, and quality associated with Test cricket is unmatchable because there are so many variables at play. T20 cricket removes most of those variables as the pitches are the same and there's a general strategy all teams follow.

Basically everyone is playing Bazball in T20 cricket.

Personally, I genuinely don't remember any T20 match beyond the WC finals Pakistan has been in. It's all the same. League cricket is absolutely forgettable whether it's PSL, IPL, or any other competition. The same goes for T10 games or Hong Kong Sixes which are even faster but it's more like watching a tape ball game on the street. You forget about it within a few hours.
 
I had to work in morning ( yes it was Sunday ) but stayed awake all night and was switching channels and watching both great test matches , India-Eng and Australia-WI . Would not have stayed awake for any other format match , not involving Pakistan . No comparison of test with any other format .
 
Awesome, interest in Test cricket is reviving.

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The NRMA Insurance Day Night Test at the Gabba drew outstanding viewing and attendance numbers as substantial audiences watched Australia and the West Indies play out a classic finish.

More than 1.4 million viewers watched during the final stages of the Test as West Indies quick Shamar Joseph and Australian batter Steve Smith fought to get their teams over the line.

That figure will grow substantially when streaming audiences across the Foxtel Group on Kayo Sports, Foxtel Go and Foxtel Now are taken into account.

Seven’s coverage alone of the Gabba Test reached 6.7 million viewers nationally across the four days, while total viewing figures were up 10% on last year’s pink-ball Test in Adelaide on Seven and Foxtel.

The Women’s T20 between Australia and South Africa reached 1.11 million people on Seven – the biggest for a women’s international in Australia in the past 12 months.

The total match attendance for the Brisbane Test was 67,164, the largest for a Test Match in Brisbane against West Indies, with the crowd peaking at 29,216 on day two.

Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia CEO said:

“Congratulations to Kraigg Brathwaite and the whole West Indies squad on their incredible victory in Brisbane, which was one of the most thrilling Test match finishes in recent memory.

“Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the game and produces drama like no other sport, which we saw yesterday with Shamar Joseph and Steve Smith producing two world-class performances that will no doubt become part of Australian cricket folklore.

“Throughout the summer we’ve seen incredibly competitive Test cricket, which has been matched by strong attendances, television and streaming audiences, as well as lots of kids registering for our participation programs."
 
Yesterday we witnessed 2 cliffhangers in test cricket-proving it is the greatest form of the game.I wonder whether tow games together have ever illustrated that no sport,let alone cricket has the ebb and flow or twists and turns of test cricket.Even if teams like India and Australia were beaten,test cricket was the moral winner.

Test cricket at it's very best in a single day-Proves it is the ultimate form of cricket .Rarely have we ever witnessed 2 classics finishes on the same day.Test match cricket has more ebb and flow ,or wists and turns than any game.

A day of victory for the underdogs.

England ressurected themselves from the grave to reach pinnacle of glory,to prevail in cliff hanger.West Indies prevailed over Australia in nail biter,with ebb and flow in the plot till the fag end-to win their first test in Australia for 27 years.
 
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Test cricket is evergreen. Always the elite format.

Even a boring drawn Test is better than a junk T20 match.
 
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to establish a special fund aimed at enhancing Test cricket by increasing player match fees and addressing the migration of talent to high-paying franchise T20 leagues. Reports from Australia suggest that this fund will set a minimum Test match fee at $10,000 (£7,600), assisting cricket boards that find it challenging to compete financially with global T20 tournaments.

This initiative reportedly has the backing of major cricket bodies such as Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Additionally, Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and a potential future ICC chair, has expressed support for a fund ranging from $5 million to $10 million or more. This fund would help subsidize the expenses for less affluent cricket boards when they host Test matches.

The ECB has already taken steps in this direction by implementing a touring fee for Zimbabwe's visit to England for a Test match in May next year. ECB CEO Richard Gould confirmed last month that Zimbabwe would benefit from this fee in 2024.
 
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Salute to test cricket! :salute

What a turnaround in this test match man just a couple of days ago all the Pakistani fans were criticising the pitch and were calling it too flat for international cricket. They were saying that this is going to be a dull draw and a bad PR for test cricket. Now Pakistan has lost this test match in the second inning of the final day.

In the end, we had a great test ending.
There was nothing wrong in this pitch after all.

It was a typical test match.
 
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to establish a special fund aimed at enhancing Test cricket by increasing player match fees and addressing the migration of talent to high-paying franchise T20 leagues. Reports from Australia suggest that this fund will set a minimum Test match fee at $10,000 (£7,600), assisting cricket boards that find it challenging to compete financially with global T20 tournaments.

This initiative reportedly has the backing of major cricket bodies such as Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Additionally, Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and a potential future ICC chair, has expressed support for a fund ranging from $5 million to $10 million or more. This fund would help subsidize the expenses for less affluent cricket boards when they host Test matches.

The ECB has already taken steps in this direction by implementing a touring fee for Zimbabwe's visit to England for a Test match in May next year. ECB CEO Richard Gould confirmed last month that Zimbabwe would benefit from this fee in 2024.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) CEO, Johnny Grave, said while talking on a podcast:

"Cricket as a game needs to think much more as a league and needs to understand everyone's business models a bit better. I think there are some positive noises from the Big 3, I think the Test fund was a good initiative. I don't know if US $15 million a year will make any difference to anything."

"I think the idea of paying a Test fee of US $10,000 is not even window dressing. We pay our players US $10,000. So, I sort of smiled when I saw that come out in the press. I thought, 'how is it going to change cricket and how's that going to be saviour of Test cricket when our players are already getting paid that?' It's not going to make any difference to us."

"What will make a difference, in my opinion, to improve West Indies Test cricket is by playing more three-match series rather than two-match series, by having dedicated Test windows where you're not competing against franchise opportunities, or actually supporting our 'A' team programmes. We've really struggled to get 'A' team tours."

"I welcome the debate and I'm not saying that I or we at West Indies cricket have all the answers, but we welcome the debate, we welcome the slight change in mindset which is the Big 3 can't just play against themselves, they've got to have a stronger opposition."
 
Now what is this going now :D

Chris Woakes forced to bowl spin by bad light


Speaking on a local media program, former England spinner Phil Tufnell questioned that it was ever too dark to bowl pace, and called the decision to force Woakes to turn to spin “mind-blowingly poor”:

“This is a bad look for Test cricket.”

“It's ridiculous. I've actually got to squint to see, that's how bright it is. I'm completely bewildered by this.”
 
Two balls after lunch, the players went off for rain - albeit a light drizzle - during Day 3 of the 3rd Test between England and Sri Lanka.

This is the unpredictable nature of Test cricket :D
 
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain on the difference in first two Tests:

"You cannot tell me that last week was better viewing than this week. You cannot tell me if you were a local in this part of the world, in 40 degree heat, you're going to come in and watch 560 play 800.

"You're going to come in and watch your side play and win on a pitch that offers something.

"Now this cannot be the template for future cricket in Pakistan, keep playing on the same surface, but they do need to look at their surfaces. And if they find a winning formula, stick with it.

"Stick with this squad, stick with these two spinners, this batting line-up, the selectors, the captain, have some kind of consistency. Go to Rawalpindi and try and prepare the same pitch, try and prepare the one that turns.

"Pakistan cricket, and I reckon Test match cricket, needed this week more than last week.

"Their spinners outbowled our spinners, and their batters played spin better than our batters."
 
Sarfaraz scored a ton today against New Zealand. It was a well-timed and crafty hundred.

That is the beauty of test cricket. He was rested for Bangladesh games but he came back and struck a hundred,
 
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain on the difference in first two Tests:

"You cannot tell me that last week was better viewing than this week. You cannot tell me if you were a local in this part of the world, in 40 degree heat, you're going to come in and watch 560 play 800.

"You're going to come in and watch your side play and win on a pitch that offers something.

"Now this cannot be the template for future cricket in Pakistan, keep playing on the same surface, but they do need to look at their surfaces. And if they find a winning formula, stick with it.

"Stick with this squad, stick with these two spinners, this batting line-up, the selectors, the captain, have some kind of consistency. Go to Rawalpindi and try and prepare the same pitch, try and prepare the one that turns.

"Pakistan cricket, and I reckon Test match cricket, needed this week more than last week.

"Their spinners outbowled our spinners, and their batters played spin better than our batters."
Sane words... Use home advantage and win tests at home. Let the visiting teams suffer.
 
Alright you T20 munchkins.

How are you enjoying the state of things in life now?
 
Nowadays, Test Cricket is just glorified version of ODI--2 ODIs at that. The highlights are never interesting to look at compared to T20s and ODIs with colored jerseys and white ball.

Test Cricket boils down to few factors that keeps it running like Aus invincible domination at home, IND invincible domination at home, IND struggling in SENA.
 
Highest percentage of away wins in Test cricket by calendar year

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A 5 test series tied 1-1 after 3 tests and we are assured of going to the 5th test with the series on the line for either team.

Border Gavaskar series has truly lived up to the hype as the most prestigious event in test calendar.
 
Australian cricket yesterday recorded its highest ever attendance for a single day.

A total of 152,375 fans attended Day 1 of the NRMA Insurance Boxing Day Test at the MCG and the KFC BBL|14 matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Optus Stadium.

This is a 26% increase on the record set 12 months ago when 120,662 fans came through the gates on Boxing Day 2023.

In Melbourne, a crowd of 87,242 watched Australia score 6-311 after electing to bat first in the fourth NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test. This was a record attendance for a day of Test cricket against India in Australia.

The day’s second match saw the Sydney Sixers defeat the Melbourne Stars by eight wickets in front of 23,212 fans, the largest ever crowd at the SCG’s annual Boxing Day fixture.

The national single day attendance record was then sealed at Optus Stadium, as the Perth Scorchers welcomed 41,921 fans – their second largest ever crowd for a home and away match – to watch them defeat reigning champions Brisbane Heat by 33 runs.

The Boxing Day attendance record comes after total and single day records were set for Test matches against India in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane and with the Big Bash achieving significant increases in attendances and broadcast audiences across Foxtel and Seven.

Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Boxing Day 2024 has been a landmark day for Australian Cricket, with records tumbling across all three venues to play host to Test and BBL matches.

“To set a new single day attendance record of 152,375 is a proud moment for Australian Cricket and reflects our sport’s popularity and strength nationwide.

“Those at the MCG will never forget Sam Konstas’ incredible Test debut, while two thrilling BBL matches have continued a trend of nail-biting finishes every night.

“The unmissable on-field action has driven record crowds to every Test match, with all formats experiencing attendance and audience growth this summer.

“We thank all those who watched or attended a match on an incredible day for cricket and look forward to seeing packed venues around the country for the remainder of the summer.”
 
We are in for stunning finishes to two great test matches he’s in Australia and South Africa.

Gotta love test cricket :srt
 
Kudos to West Indies for registering yet another test win on foreign soil after recently winning in Australia as well. There is still hope in Windoes cricket.
 
So West Indies have won a test against Australia in Australia, and Pakistan in Pakistan in the last couple of years. Not bad.

If they come to India bet they'll demolish us.
 
Test cricket zindabad.

1 Test match > 10000 T20 matches. :inti
Most test matches are boring and dull bro. But test cricket in England is a lot nicer and better than most places.

T20s is the future. I used to love ODI’s now I’m losing interest in that format. In fact lost quite a bit interest in cricket in general lately.
 
Most test matches are boring and dull bro. But test cricket in England is a lot nicer and better than most places.

T20s is the future. I used to love ODI’s now I’m losing interest in that format. In fact lost quite a bit interest in cricket in general lately.

I like Test and ODI. :inti

Not a fan of T20. It is junk like French fries.

T20 is so volatile that even Italy can beat Scotland (which they did recently).
 
I like Test and ODI. :inti

Not a fan of T20. It is junk like French fries.

T20 is so volatile that even Italy can beat Scotland (which they did recently).

I like International T20s. Despise leagues all of them. iT20 produces a lot closer contests, more engaging. ODI for me has to go, it’s the in between format. Test cricket wont go because SENA nations love it, so does India. ODI might need to go. Cant have three formats forever.
 
Pathetic format. Sad to see people just literally wasting their life away sitting at stands and watching batsmen pile on runs.

Rest of the world realized it way back besides gullible South Asians who continues to fall for English trap. While back, without Test Cricket teams would not make a tour. That is changing now. Teams are now more willing for Limited Over tours than ever before. Also, big names players continues to retire from Test Cricket at great pace.
 
A good old hard fought draw and another 5 test series moves to the 5th test with the series still on the line.

Fantastic stuff
 
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