Piyal Samarakone – Dubai

We may witness the disappearance of the Test Cricket with in our life time which was first played in 1877 as international sporting event and after well over a century known as EnglishmenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s sport with more than 10 recognized top-level playing nations embraced into the game today face the same fate of Latin which disappeared in 17^th century as the language of intellectuals.

The Wisdom, courage and skill gradually fading away from the players and so the technique, all of the main ingredients essential for longer version of the cricket are being seriously threatened with lucrative transformation of the sport today.

The game of cricket today has become a volatile and flashy business, thus paving way for brink of its extinction and unfortunately cricket loving spectators too vying for the same cause off the turf.

Since the shorter version of cricket which introduced and played in 1975 survived almost four decades without major transformation and held sway in its own class until the infusion of T-20s in 2003 by ECB. The enthusiasm shown throughout four long decades for limited over cricket has come to its climax for plenty of wrong reasons very regrettable.

Presently we are in the threshold of further curtailment of Test Cricket and the world of test cricket may confined to its famous hundred year old Urn is inevitable although not imminent. The reluctance shown for longer version by the most of top knots who reign the sport for long years and cricket debutants show no respect for the game add fuel to the burning pyre of Test-Cricket.

Once, determination and perseverance was name of the game on the field, are being replaced with anger and disrespectfulness in order to find the swirling bucks more than the fame. History of cricket unfolds its greatness and over shadowed isolated few bad patches on the field, the infamous bodyline and under-arm incidents are no match to current body language of present day cricketers on the field more often showing off their vocabulary skills to millions of the cricket fans around the globe, not forgetting the wrong message which sends to the minds of future greats, if any.

The pride of playing for their nations once carried on their shoulders with dignity has been dented in irreparable manner due to the cricketing vultures who manned the game and beyond. The instant cricket within shortest period of its proud history diminished its true values beyond recognition with a complete face-lift. The umpires become mere figures who opt to paint squares on the air more often than not just to safeguard their daily bread, insulting the greats of Birds and Shepherds. The judge often challenged by the victims and defendants in the cricketing court showing the faith no longer exists on the evenly leveled field.

With ever changing world of sports the one time GentlemenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s game lost its true values more than any other sport in the world at the hands of businessmen-type administrators and cricketers alike.

Commercialization of sports has no boundaries, the rope which demarcates the arena under intense strain to symbolize its presence as the leather-cork meet spectators more than the players who are jubilant, perhaps not knowing the great game showing down its final flares.

The Golden Day Greats face the pace with their bear but dignified heads unlike the present day well protected Roman-soldier-like-cricketer who hysterically slashing the willow at anything and everything, one can argue why cricket had to wait 100 long years to introduce the head protection than the protection which cover their nudity since 1877.