Is T20 cricket responsible for the batters’ poor technique in Test matches?

The lingering debate continues as batters have forgotten the traditional virtues of concentration and patience needed to build an innings in Test cricket.

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who led in 108 of the 117 Tests he played, has a mixed view and thinks players are struggling to adjust to the different mental and technical set-ups to survive in both white- and red-ball formats.

“I definitely think so, but I also think batters just are developing differently now. If I take my time coming through, it was ODI cricket and Test cricket, so your technique was set up to perform in those styles of play. Now the platform is T20 cricket. That’s where private ownership and growth of the game is, as well as where the revenue is,” Smith, 45, told The Telegraph in an interview facilitated through Betway.

“Batters coming through now, if you watch the youngsters, it’s the lap, it’s the reverse lap, it’s setting up for power hitting. So that also doesn’t really help when you get into Test cricket and you’ve got to fight out a session. It’s a different mentality and a different technique. I don’t think batters do that well anymore.

“Their natural instinct is to play and take the game on, rather than fight through a session, get through the new ball, and then say I’ll get you after Lunch. The techniques are different because batters are setting up for power hitting and that’s how they’re building their techniques now,” Smith explained.

The dominance of batters in the IPL has already stoked fears of bowlers getting disillusioned by the turn of events. There is talk that such supremacy could affect the bowlers’ psyche and development. Is Smith wary of such a scenario?

“I hope not. Hopefully, the skills of the next generation coming through is different and they’re developing more. You always want to see a slight balance between bat and ball,” he said.

“With the smaller boundaries, flatter pitches and the likes of Impact players, the IPL is setting the standard in terms of providing depth so that batters can just go hard and as long as possible.

“I don’t think it will be the same all around the world. If I take the Betway SA20, we don’t have the impact player. Bowlers definitely have more of a role to play. Pitches maybe aren’t always as consistent as IPL pitches. You think about Australia, the boundaries are much bigger, stadium sizes are different.

“Even though power hitting gets you far into the tournament, I truly believe when it gets to crunch time, it’s those key bowlers that change the landscape and win you games... like a Bumrah at the World Cup for example.

“It’s one of the things that I really hope South Africa can unearth, because I think we’ve got a solid bowling attack. We have guys that compete and can bowl well, but we just lack a little bit of X-factor, someone that can change the game in a two-over spell. It’s the types of players that can have an impact from a bowling perspective,” Smith said.

Still place for ODIs

Amid the passion over franchise leagues, Smith thinks there’s still room for ODI cricket. The next 50-over World Cup is in South Africa next year.

“People have been writing it off for a very long time. I think there were even versions of conversations around ODI cricket when I was playing 2013-2014. But it has survived and I think it largely survives because the ODI World has been around forever, it’s every four years, and it’s seen as kind of one of the pinnacle World Cups to win,” he said.

“From 2027 onwards, I think there’s going to be a lot of change in the game in terms of what broadcasters are paying for, how the ICC package their events, and the growth of franchise cricket. There is the potential introduction of Club World Cups and so on. But I think this 2027 to 2031 period is going to be very interesting to see how cricket transitions.

“Even for me as a cricket lover, I can watch a Test match and get enthralled by a Test match, and the fast-paced excitement of T20. I find the pace of ODI cricket quite hard to get into... I just find the pace of the game almost monotonous in some ways, and I think that will count against it in the long run.”

Smith has a neutral view on franchise cricket in the next FTP cycle

“It’s always difficult to predict these things, but I think you’ll probably get out with four to five tier-one leagues in different windows.

“You’re potentially looking at a Club World Cup type of tournament that develops from the private ownership of leagues. There’s obviously a lot of work to go into how that starts, and with the Olympics and the growth of private ownership in franchise cricket, I’d like to see that product built to attract new countries to the game as well.”