As the word itself suggests, Test cricket is indeed a real test of a player’s skills, the challenge is bigger and so is the sharpening of a cricketer’s game. The longest format of the game puts to test both the mental and physical strength of the players of this wonderful sport.
ICC Chair, Greg Barclay’s comments on women’s tests have disappointed many and England women’s cricket team head coach, Lisa Keightley is no exception.
In an interview with BBC Test Match Special earlier this month, Barclay was speaking in reference to England’s captain Heather Knight who said that women’s tests should be played for five days and while Barclay supported that, he also said that “there is no doubt that white-ball cricket is way of the future”
“To play Test cricket you have got to have structures domestically,” he further said. “They don’t really exist in any of the countries at the moment. I can’t really see women’s Test cricket evolving at any particular speed”
“That’s not to say any countries that choose to play Test cricket can’t do so. But I don’t see it being any part of the landscape moving forward to any real extent at all.” Greg added.
While it is important to have well structured domestic institutions that provide well developed infrastructure for the training and organization of women’s Test cricket, questioning the very possibility and future of the format is unfair for women cricketers who have spent years on the field and have faced challenges in this patriarchal setup and have been giving their best to take women’s cricket to greater heights.
Keightley said that, “the ECB are considering introducing red-ball cricket for women at the domestic level in a bid to address one of the hurdles to the growth of women’s Tests – the fact that it remains a rarely played format”
The coming week, South Africa will be playing their first test in seven years while England, third in over just a year. India, Australia and England have played some test cricket but South Africa is the only other team to have played test cricket since 2007 that too just once. None of the last five games of women’s test cricket have given an absolute result and it truly proves the need of having 5 days of test cricket instead of the current 4-day format.
“Realistically I don’t think every country can play this format, I get that, but I do think we should stretch and challenge and have the desire to improve women’s cricket and to grow it. There are a few countries that are putting their hand up to play Test match cricket for that purpose. The players really want to play it and the organisations are getting in and around it and behind it.” Lisa said.
“It’s disappointing to hear,” Keightley said. “We can challenge and say, ‘we actually feel like we want to lead the way’. The way to do that is play more Test matches” Lisa said on Greg’s comments.
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