A Remarkably Short Two-Day Test Match Has Polarized The Cricket Community

As Australia struggled to chase down a tiny target of 35 runs, remarkably only on day two of the first Test, an aggrieved South Africa captain Dean Elgar asked the umpires if it was safe to continue playing on a green Gabba surface that proved a minefield for shook batters.

With South Africa slipping to a series-opening defeat, after their brittle batting order offered meek resistance in both innings, cynics felt it was sour grapes on behalf of Elgar but he insisted that the pitch was hazardous and skewed too much in favor of bowlers whom both teams are stacked with firepower.

“I said, ‘How long does it go on for until it potentially is unsafe?’ I know the game was dead and buried. It was never to try and change (the result) or to put a halt to the game,” Elgar said.

“You’ve got to ask yourself the question: Is that a good advertisement for our format? Thirty four wickets in two days. A pretty one-sided affair I would say.”

Elgar’s question, perhaps meant to be rhetorical, is an interesting one and has been met with a polarzing response. To be clear, the pitch swung too far in favor of the bowlers and was seemingly becoming harder to bat on in contrast to the norm of matches in Brisbane, where usual sunny weather flattens the surface.

But overcast conditions and a spicier pitch meant the Test finished inside two days for the first time in Australia in 90 years. “The pitch is just a bit too juicy…you just need luck to make runs. I’d have to say this pitch will get a below average rating. You want a contest between bat and ball and this wasn’t a contest,” said former Australia batter turned pundit Mark Waugh, who echoed widespread sentiment.

But the backlash has perhaps been too severe and can be chalked down to a freak occurrence – like Sydney Thunder being bowled out for an extraordinary 15 in the Big Bash League.

In some respects, it was quite refreshing seeing ball dominate bat and the match sped up which can be an infrequent occurrence in Test matches in Australia. Too often there have been one-sided Tests that are drawn out and stretched over five days but almost feel pointless due to the predictability. Simply, they can feel interminable.

The recent Australia-West Indies Test in Perth was a prime example, where there was talk of a fast and furious pitch only for the curator to get spooked and trim the grass covering on match day resulting in a sedate wicket. The match went deep into the fifth day but an Australia victory was always inevitable.

At least the Brisbane Test was over quickly with plenty of action crammed into two compelling days where it was hard to keep your eyes off the revolving door of wickets.

As long as this doesn’t become the norm then the quirkiness of such an abbreviated Test match should be embraced and a reminder that Test cricket can conjure different rhythms dependent on conditions and participants.

It was the antithesis of England’s recent seven runs an over scoring frenzy on flat pitches in Pakistan in a juxtaposition of Test cricket.

Having been criticised in recent years for producing dull pitches, curators around Australia have probably tried too hard to liven it up and the results have been uneven. But that’s okay.

Instead of roundly being admonished, they should be applauded for trying to make the matches more interesting as evidenced by the first Test at the Gabba which will never be forgotten.

For better or worse.