Love for the long innings

An omnibus for Test cricket lovers

- Madan Sabnavis

When a fast bowler runs in to bowl and delivers at over 100 miles per hour, the pace at which one runs around 25 km/hour—faster than the upper limit of a treadmill—it is not surprising that several fast bowlers run the risk of injury, as all body parts are endangered with such rigorous exertion. That's why one keeps hearing of several fast bowlers getting injured and often ending up slowing down and concentrating more on swing and direction.

These kinds of observations, along with some very pertinent anecdotes involving interviews with cricketers, make the book, Test Cricket, by Tim Wigmore, an excellent treatise on the game and its evolution. The author starts off by detailing the finer points of Test match cricket, writing that it is more like letting a cup of tea brew, compared with a tea that can be likened to the 20 or 50-overs format. It is a gentle throwback to the history of cricket and the way it was played in a more casual mode than what it is today. The cadence of Test cricket has quite been eroded, even as the shorter versions draw more crowds. But, this is not a comparison of different formats of the game. It has several chapters on not just matches and players, but also several episodes that could be called revolutionary as they marked a change in the complexion of the game.