Cricket authorities are worried about the future of Test cricket. The International Cricket Council and the Marylebone Cricket Club feel that the popularity of Twenty20 cricket has affected Test cricket adversely. This pessimistic view is highly preposterous.

The notion gaining ground is that since not too many people watch Test matches at the ground, the game is not generating enough funds to sustain itself. Over the last 150 years, generous donors have seen to it that cricket survived every kind of threat. Today, sponsorship runs into millions. The health of modern cricket, including Tests, is as good as ever.

Was Test cricket always a five-day affair? The answer is ‘no’. India’s debut match was of three days at Lord’s. So was the inaugural Test at Melbourne in 1876 between Australia and England. Earlier, the duration of a Test match varied between three and six days, depending on the venue and strength of the respective teams. However, the ‘timeless Test’ at Durban did not yield a result even after 10 days, enabling the English players to rush to Cape Town to board their departing ship.

The minimum time- span for a first-class match is three days. Hence, a Test match cannot last for less than three days. The current thinking that Test cricket should be curtailed will die a quick death. One can have four T20 innings in a single day, but that cannot be considered as a ‘real’ test. Only Test cricket, played over five days, can put the skills of a cricketer to test.

Another recent thought is to have a world championship in Test cricket. But this is not a new idea. The first world championship in Test cricket was held nearly 100 years ago. In 1912, the three Test-playing nations of the time — England, Australia and South Africa — competed for a world championship on English soil. England, led by the magnificent C.B. Fry, won the triangular contest. The concept, if revived, will do wonders to increase the popularity of Tests.

Cricket administrators are also contemplating the introduction of pink balls and black sight-screens in Test. However, there should be no tinkering with cricketing traditions, and Test cricket should be allowed to remain ‘day encounters’.

The value of Test cricket can be gauged by the fact that every cricket player wants to be successful in the longer form of the game. The feats in one-day and T20 cricket are forgotten by fans as soon as the matches are over. But the records in first-class and Test cricket are so sacrosanct that no self-respecting cricketer will ever trade them for accomplishments in the shorter versions of the game. Even Yuvraj Singh, considered to be a highly successful one-day specialist, wants to make his mark in Test cricket.

Test cricket will survive in style alongside one-dayers and T20 championships, just as the soccer world cup is doing well despite the popularity of club football all over the globe. The ICC has to balance both versions firmly, and take full control of the international and domestic cricket calendar.

The ICC has to take charge without fear or favour. If the idea is to attract new customers to the game by compromising Test cricket, there is every possibility that cricket will lose the steadfast support of fans. Instead of relying exclusively on former cricketers, the ICC will do well to have journalists, historians and researchers on its panels and debates. Some of the former cricketers may have been the best in the business in their prime. But they are usually not the best people to discuss cricketing trends as they are unaware of cricketing history and traditions. Test cricket is alive and well and can do without a dose of oxygen.