Want spectators to flock to Test venues? Prepare sporting pitches

India’s narrow defeat at Lord's by 22 runs in the third Test of the ongoing series in England disappointed the followers of the game back home. Most observers felt the visitors stood a good chance of winning the game when they dismissed England for 192 runs in the second innings. But the loss of four wickets, including that of skipper Shubman Gill, in the closing stages on day four, turned the tables in England’s favour.

England gained the upper hand on the last day, by picking up more crucial wickets in the first session, till the partnerships for ninth and last wickets gave them some tense moments. The match came to a rather tame end, when a defensive shot played by Mohamed Siraj resulted in the ball spinning after hitting the turf to disturb the stumps. The glee on the face of England players when this happened gave an indication about the amount of tension that they were under when the last pair was at the crease.

England, and especially their captain Ben Stokes, deserve the accolades that came their way after this win. In a closely fought match, they held their nerves better and came out on top during the crucial moments, which made all the difference between victory and defeat. India, on the other hand, played very well, with each cricketer contributing substantially, but faltered at critical times, thus denying themselves the momentum to pin their opponents down on the mat.

India are a young side short on experience and this vital element showed itself up in this tight game. There is nothing to feel disheartened, though, as these are essential lessons learnt in the rough and tumble world of Test match cricket, and the side will emerge wiser and better after this experience.

But this Test match, as well as the preceding ones, sent a bigger lesson to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), regarding the preparation of pitches for the conduct of matches in the longer duration version of the game. It was reported that the game at Lord’s was watched by a total of close to 60 million people. This is the combined number, taking into consideration the spectators on the ground and those who followed the match on TV and through digital media. The packed house at Lord’s on the last day, which happened to be a Monday, demonstrated that the interest generated by this Test among cricket fans was so great that they were willing to turn up at the stadium rather than report for work. The followers in India had it easier, as the time difference ensured that they had to tune in only in the evening.

The attendance for the Lord’s Test came as a pleasant surprise for the cricket fans in India who are used to seeing near-empty stands for such matches played in the country. There were times when fans used to queue up at the stadium gates on eve of the Test to ensure tickets to their preferred stands. But, of late, not only are paying spectators staying way from the stadia, even matches are getting over faster, with a considerable percentage finishing on the fourth day, with more than five sessions of play remaining.

The reasons for this development are not far to seek. The preparation of “rank turners” or pitches that are deliberately “underprepared” to ensure that the ball starts turning from the first day has ruined spectator interest in Test matches in India. This “win at all costs” attitude may have seen India winning matches at home by comfortable margins for some years but this has come at the altar of spectator interest for this version of the sport.

Though the advent of TV and live coverage of the game gave the fans an alternate avenue for following the sport on realtime basis, it was widely recognised that there was nothing that could match the surge of excitement that one felt while watching action unfurl in the middle, from a vantage point in the ground. However, when the matches become devoid of any excitement and the quality of cricket on offer is nothing to rave about, even the most steadfast of fans develop a reluctance to go to the stadium and spend their entire day there.

The emergence of India Premier League (IPL) and the fast moving and action- packed world of T20 cricket has lured the younger generation to the shorter format. In addition to the edge-of-the-seat excitement and the thrills of closely fought matches, many attractive frills induce more spectators to watch them in the stadium. Action taking place under floodlights in a venue with excellent amenities with the game played using a white ball by players clothed in colourful attire and the cheer girls adding a dose of “oomph” create a powerful cocktail that younger fans of the sport find hard to resist. On the other hand, Test matches in India are seen by the new generations as unexciting cousins, where action unrolls at a slow pace, with hardly any colour or charm on the horizon! 

The only way to get the paying spectator back on the ground is by providing good quality cricket. The last time fans flocked to a ground in India in large numbers for seeing action in a Test match was during the series against Australia in 2000-01. The matches at Kolkata and Chennai that India won saw record crowds. Though it is the second Test at Kolkata that remains etched in the minds of followers due to VVS Laxman’s knock and the tremendous fightback it triggered, it was the last match of this series at Chennai that would be counted as one of the most thrilling ones played on Indian soil. The manner in which India won this game by 2 wickets and the excitement and tense moments in the final stages of this match were recounted by then Indian coach in his book “John Wright’s Indian Summers”, which he co-wrote with Sharda Ugra and Paul Thomas.

It is not in dispute that there exists the concept of “home advantage” in the world of Test cricket, where the host side is expected to use some of the local factors to its benefit. This has seen India preparing pitches that assist spin bowlers from the 1950s. This was to win matches riding on the back of spin bowlers, of which the nation appeared to have an endless supply chain. The flip side was that there was no fast bowler in the country, which seriously hampered the team while playing abroad. It was only with the arrival of Kapil Dev that this situation underwent a change. However, the policy of making pitches to aid spin bowling continued even after this with very few grounds making sporting tracks. Though top quality fast bowlers as Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan  and Jasprit Bumrah, who rank amongst the best in world, emerged after that, we have been loath to make pitches that help them.

The diminishing returns from the practice of making turning tracks was visible during the last few years but BCCI continued with this practice. This could have been prompted by the pressure from the side of the players or due to the desire to win as many matches as possible at home to qualify for the finals of World Test Championship or a combination of both. The strong reaction of Ravichandran Ashwin on a couple of occasions when media criticised this policy showed the intense emotions that players carried in this regard. In any case, the series against New Zealand last year, when India were blanked 0-3, should open the eyes of all concerned and prompt the authorities to consider burying this approach for good.

While winning matches is important and home advantage is not to be squandered away, it is equally relevant to remember that matches are ultimately played before an audience. If the game becomes so boring or one-sided that spectators lose interest and decide to stay away, it will die a quick death. If BCCI wants Test cricket to survive it must take a leaf out of the books of England and Australia and make sporting pitches, which will help good, positive cricket to be played, without giving any side any undue advantage. Test matches will start producing exciting cricket once this is done and stands will be full in next to no time.

We missed an opportunity to do this after the tour to Australia in 2020-21 where we won the series with an inexperienced side that played exhilarating cricket. The present team is playing brilliant cricket that has aroused excitement across the country. BCCI should seize this opportunity and revise its policy and insist that all associations hosting Test matches prepare sporting pitches in future. Such a move alone will change the face of test match cricket in the country and restore its popularity.