The conclusion of the Test Series between Australia and
South Africa started off as one-sided and torturous for Australian fans, before
becoming interesting, entertaining and full of hope with one small
chardonnay-inspired move; to Adelaide.
While the Perth Test is always a boon for the majority of
cricket-following Australians, where the 3 hour time difference allows one to
get watch (at least) the final session after work. It almost makes starting an 8-hour day at 9am
bearable.
The result in Perth, a crushing defeat after holding the
advantage after the first day was tough to watch, but not apparently for the
good people of Western Australia who didn’t appear to turn up at all. You could argue that there was something
better to do, but, well, Perth.
You can’t completely blame them though, while they have had
a Test at home regularly for the last 20 years, its hardly received the same
promotion or treatment as Melbourne or Sydney, whose dates have been largely
locked in over the same period.
The same can be said for the Hobart Test. While Cricket Australia seems to think it is
doing various Capitals a favour by allowing them to host a Test match, they
aren’t doing a lot to create interest or attraction to the game.
Doing anything outdoors in Tasmania in November is fraught
with enough danger, but attempting a summer sport is just madness. That the team was able to travel to the
ground by snow-skiing over the Derwent River should have caused concerns.
The lack of interest in the game wasn't helped by the state
of the Australian team, which seemed more like a boat struggling across the
Tasman sea during the Sydney to Hobart race, though perhaps involving more
players brothers storming off.
Then came Adelaide and for perhaps the first time in
history, it seemed to fix everything.
Watching the game on television provided a real spectacle,
not just on the field but off it too.
The sunsets were spectacular, the ground resplendent and you would think
only an OLED TV could make the black colours stand out as much as they did.
In and around the ground a large crowd converged and created
an energy about the game. It reminded me
of the Melbourne Cup, just without the images of young women assaulting police
or people being pulled out of Rose Bushes.
It looked like people were enjoying the event and that it was being made
accessible to all.
On the ground, the game itself suddenly became a contest,
with the bowlers getting the advantage, enabling Australia to take wickets when
in the field and hold out like Bill Lawry with the bat.
It's a real credit to the good people at the South
Australian Cricket Association that they’ve been able to make the Test into
such an enjoyable and accessible event in such a short period of time.
It is in Crickets best interest to expand to grow to
survive, rather than retract, so six Test Matches (one in each Capital) through
the Australian summer would be the logical extension of this approach, but only
if they are events that people are drawn to.
They don't have to be six-Test series, they could be 2
three-Test Series, or even 3 two-Test Series.
How else are we ever going to see Bangladesh play here?
Melbourne has the Boxing Day Test, Sydney has the New Year
Test and Adelaide seems to have successfully captured interest through its
Day-Night Test; so what are we to do to get the other half right?
To start with, giving each ground a set date or order in the
sequence of Tests would make sense (e.g. Melbourne with the Boxing Day
Test). This would enable the locals to
plan around the event and for the organisers to promote it on the local
calendar.
There is also the opportunity for change along these lines;
the Sydney Test could be held over the Australia Day weekend, enabling it to
access a broad market while also cashing in on all sorts of Australiana. This would also enable Hobart to take over
the New Years Test, allowing the match to be played in sunny conditions and
coinciding with the finish of the boat race.
As for Perth and Brisbane, well, I don't have all the answers.
So Three cheers for Adelaide for saving the Test series and
showing the others how to do it, pie floaters all round.
