Five-day Tests show teams’ true grit
Yesterday’s stoic defence, then the sudden tail-end collapse of the Proteas, were more than just aspects of sport. They were cameos of human nature.
Faf du Plessis of South Africa reacts after c Denly b Bess during day 5 of the 2nd Test match between South Africa and England at Newlands Cricket Stadium on January 07, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)
It almost beggars belief that Cricket South Africa could issue a statement early yesterday – as the fifth and final day of the fascinating tussle in the second Test between the Proteas and England began – saying it supports the concept of Test matches being four-day games.
Even though Faf du Plessis’ men went down yesterday, they made the English sweat for their victory, with the final wicket falling with just over eight overs left in the day’s play.
And that – the tension of the fifth day and the fact that the South African fightback genuinely made a face-saving draw a possibility – was what five-day Test match cricket is all about.
In that most pure form of the game, there is the cerebral chess tussle between captains; traps laid and sprung.
At the same time, you also have a chance for grit and application, those old-fashioned words so seldom used correctly in the modern world.
And yesterday’s stoic defence, then the sudden tail-end collapse of the Proteas, were more than just aspects of sport. They were cameos of human nature.
Were Cricket South Africa to get its way, we would lose a lot of that: the very essence of the game of cricket.
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