The debate has been why spectators are staying away from one while flocking to see the other. But for the odd contest and the odd days, Test matches are surrounded by almost empty stands. The crowds during the Test series between the West Indies and South Africa were generally disappointing. If you are a betting man, however, you can safely bet your last dollar that starting tomorrow, there will be full houses to witness all the one-day matches between the West Indies and South Africa. The connoisseurs are right.
Test cricket is the heart of the game.
It is the real test - the test of skill and character. The reality, however, is that too many people now find it boring and without robbing it of its character, without reducing it to a hit or miss contest, in the interest of the game, something should be done about it. One of the reasons why the one-day version is so attractive to so many is the continuous action, and one of the reasons for that is because the bowler cannot hide. In one-day cricket, the bowler cannot bowl as far outside the off stump as he can in a Test match, as far bowling outside the leg stump is concerned, it is even more rigid, and that is one area that should be looked at in an effort to liven up Test matches. It may have been good tactics by both sides, but with the West Indies batsmen leaving alone so many deliveries deliberately pitched way outside the off stump, and with the South African batsmen leaving alone or padding away so many deliveries deliberately pitched way outside the leg stump, it was boring for the spectators - even the connoisseurs.