Dead Pitch Blues

Runs. Everywhere you look, runs. The recent series in Pakistan, West Indies and currently in New Zealand have been a showcase for tracks where bowlers toil for next to no reward. The England tour of West Indies was won in one session, where England imploded in the face of some decent swing bowling from Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards. 1500 runs were scored in two-and-a-bit innings in the first test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Karachi in February. And New Zealand could do little to break down a stubborn India in Napier over the weekend with the pitch failing to deteriorate as Gautam Gambhir bedded in for the long haul.

This winter we've seen plenty of runs, an indication of where the game is going with the onset of Twenty20. Where's the incentive to be a top-class bowler these days? Most of the time you'll get flogged for no reward. Graham Gooch, a man who can be relied upon to talk a bit of sense about the game, has it spot on. Lifeless pitches contribute nothing to cricket as a spectacle. Only idiots derive any pleasure in seeing Ramnaresh Sarwan, great player though he is, bat for 10 hours in Barbados. It is this kind of attitude that gives the haters ammunition in calling test cricket boring, and which allowed people like Andy Hale-lookalike Allen Stanford to force gaudy Twenty20 circuses on us.

Of course, its no coincidence that the best cricket of all winter (and indeed since the 2005 ashes) has been played between South Africa and Australia, on pitches in both countries which have offered something to both batsmen and bowler. Witness Mitchell Johnson's devastating spells in Durban and Johannesburg; JP Duminy's magnificent 166 at the MCG; AB De Villiers, well, just witness AB De Villiers. Paul Harris getting wickets. Phil Hughes becoming the youngest man to score back-to-back centuries. Test match cricket at its very highest quality. Heed the call, governing bodies, or face dwindling interest and shrinking crowds. Twenty20 won't save you.