SHARJAH // After a week in which it became obvious the game’s rulers are none the wiser as to what the future for Test cricket should look like, it feels appropriate Pakistan and Sri Lanka should go retro on us.
Dip into the cricket archives from any time around about the mid-1960s and it would probably throw up something like the opening day of this third Test in Sharjah.
Sri Lanka would not have been playing, of course. Neither would Ceylon. They did not have Test status, you see. But the rest was a throwback to times past.
A total of 220 for five at the close of play. A run-rate of 2.44. A spongy, bobbling outfield. Wooden benches rather than plastic bucket seats in the stands at the Sharjah Club End.
At one point, Mahela Jayawardene, that most classical of Sri Lankan batsmen, even stroked a lofted drive for six, rather than clubbing a sponsored maximum.
It felt like the accompanying images should be sepia-tinted stills rather than high-definition technicolour, and the commentary on a crackly wireless rather than via a digital soundboard.
This has been so old school, maybe Zaheer Abbas will come out to bat at first wicket down for Pakistan at some point today, wearing a cravat. The Asian Bradman would be most welcome.
Or Hanif Mohammed might have a go at showing everyone how a proper forward defensive should be played. Which is just what we need, of course. Not.
This week, the International Cricket Council is said to have put to put the idea of a World Test Championship to bed and is mulling the idea of divisional Test cricket instead. Hopefully, this will involve new, deserving nations, like Ireland or Afghanistan.
If anyone needs persuading of the merits of increasing the amount of nations allowed to participate at the top level of the sport, rather than keeping it a closed shop, this stadium has provided the perfect example this winter.
These two nations, long established among the game’s elite, were watched by a mere smattering of people yesterday, even though this is the most accessible ground in the UAE.
It contrasted markedly with the atmosphere at the end of last year, when a rain-affected fixture between two nations who have only been playing the game seriously for around a decade attracted thousands.
Afghanistan versus Nepal was a riot of colour, providing new sensations that cricket has not experienced before.
Obviously, the formats were entirely different, but at least the sides were not so familiar with each other as to breed contempt for the spectacle.
This attritional cricket is probably not what the host team could do with, either.
If Pakistan had requested a result pitch, seeing as they need to force a win in this match to halve the series, it is questionable whether they got their wish.
This seems the typical slow, low, bowler’s graveyard which usually prevails in Sharjah.
Boring the batsmen out is usually the lone method, and Pakistan’s bowlers made a good go of that in a commendably disciplined effort with the ball.
Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, was the thriftiest of the lot, sending down nine maidens and ending with an economy rate of 1.87.
“With the sort of pitch we have, our bowler controlled the runs very well,” Rehman said. “The pitch is pretty flat and we have to work very hard to get turn.
“There is a little bit of spin, not in the first two sessions, but later on I did get little turn and I am hoping to get more turn in third and fourth innings.”
Whether it will do as hoped and break up is a moot point. Rarely does this block of earth provide any assistance, no matter how long it is played on. But both sides remain hopeful.
“I think the wicket is dry, more so than in Abu Dhabi and Dubai,” said Dimuth Karunaratne, the Sri Lankan opener who fell victim to Rehman after making 34 in 93 balls. “I don’t think it’s dangerous. There has been spin for Rehman and [Saeed] Ajmal, but I don’t think it has been dangerous up until now.
“We won the toss and decided to bat because we thought the fourth innings would be a little bit tough for the batsmen.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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