Test cricket will be revived if we produce interesting tracks: Sachin Tendulkar

Former India captain Sachin Tendulkar has said that Test cricket can get more interesting if good pitches are prepared. The ongoing Ashes have thrown up plenty of drama with England chasing down a mammoth 359 in the Headingley Test.

Tendulkar made a reference to the wicket used in the Lord’s Test. It is in this Test that an epic battle between Steve Smith and Jofra Archer made fans sit up and take notice.

“The heart of Test cricket is the kind of surface that you play on. If you provide good pitches, cricket cannot be boring, cricket cannot be damp, and [there will always] be those exciting moments, exciting bowling spells, great batting, and that is what people want to see,” he said.

Tendulkar also said that the confrontation between Smith and Archer got spectators hooked to Test cricket and made for a visual treat for cricket lovers. Especially the way Archer has been steaming in with nasty bouncers, one of which led to Smith suffering a concussion.

“Smith got injured unfortunately, that was a big blow to him but Test cricket was exciting when Jofra Archer challenged him, it suddenly became exciting and the focus shifted to Test cricket.

“At Lord’s, they lost almost a day and half, but the Test match got exciting even on the last day when England picked [up] those wickets and Australia had to survive. Test cricket suddenly became exciting and that is how it should be.”

Need to revive Test cricket

The former Indian batsman, who finished as India’s leading run-scorer in Tests, insisted that the longest format of the game needs such tracks to spice things up.

“I think Test cricket is going to revive if we produce interesting tracks, but if the tracks are flat and dead then Test cricket is going to find its challenges. I know this World Test Championship has been announced but even to have this World Championship, you’ve got to make cricket interesting, just by having another championship, cricket is not going to get interesting.

Impressed with Labuschagne

The Master Blaster said Marnus Labuschagne’s art of leaving the ball at a time when England were peppering them was impressive. Smith’s exclusion meant that Labuschagne had the responsibility to revive Australia’s fortunes. And the youngster did that with three fifty-plus scores in his last three innings.

“I have been watching a little bit of Ashes and I thought someone like Marnus Labuschagne has left the ball brilliantly, which is something that you don’t get to see in Test cricket. Normally you tend to glide those balls to third man and pick [up] a single. But the kind of surfaces they are playing on, if you steer the ball you go to the dressing room”, he added.

Read: Ashes 2019: 3rd Test review – Ben Stokes pulls off miracle at Headingley