Is five-day Test the way forward for women’s cricket?

India Women’s tail is not known for wagging as opposed to the men’s team, which has Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who all can chip in with scores down the order. Hence, when Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia got together in Bristol, a bolt-from-the-blue performance wasn’t expected, more so because they were two of the five Indians to debut in the one-off Test.

The lead was 75 and with around 40 overs left in the final day’s play, England’s victory seemed, pretty much, inevitable. Bhatia and Rana’s numbers in limited-overs cricket didn’t show much promise either for India to save the Test. But from there on until the end of the day and the game, Mithali Raj and Co didn’t give the home team much of a chance to get over the finishing line.

Rana’s unbeaten 80 and Bhatia’s unbeaten 44 made sure that India ended the match with a lead of 179 runs. Their 104-run stand took care of India’s loss-less streak in Tests on English soil. Since both captains didn’t see a chance of a result, Raj and Heather Knight, the English skipper, shook hands. But had there been the fifth day, all three results were still on the cards, weren’t they?

Test cricket ‘robbed’ of an exciting finish

Back in 2001, had the Kolkata Test against Australia been stopped after the fourth day, Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy stint might never have taken off, India would have been staring down the barrel to save the series and most importantly, Steve Waugh’s men would have crossed the “final frontier”.

In Bristol, India could well have pulled off a heist, though with the odds stacked against them. England, on the other hand, had a chance of getting their noses ahead after being made to sweat by Bhatia and Rana. The rain didn’t help the cause either. About a fifth day, Knight was loud and clear.

“I would definitely be open to it. There’s obviously been a lot of draws in women’s cricket, in previous games, so yeah, it’s definitely something I think that should be looked at,” the English skipper quipped after four exciting days of cricket.

“[We were] almost robbed of that finish because there wasn’t an extra day and we didn’t have the time in the game. So, yes, something I’d definitely be open to,” Knight, who agonisingly missed out on a century after getting out to Deepti Sharma on 95, added.

Had play continued, India could well have gotten 35-40 more runs, stretching the lead to around 220. Maybe not ensuring it, but India could have placed themselves in a position of winning the game after being made to follow on- a feat achieved by the men’s team at the Eden Gardens.

Need for more results?

Back in August 2015, women’s Test cricket witnessed its last result when Australia beat England by 161 runs in Canterbury. Seven members of the losing English team played in Bristol. In 2019, Knight and Co played a Test against the Aussies and the fate of the match was almost decided after two days. Rain washing away two sessions, eventually, acted as the final nail in the coffin.

To make a match out of it, England declared after avoiding the follow-on, but couldn’t evade a draw. Meg Lanning, the Aussie captain, had also spoken for five-day Tests. “[A fifth day] would’ve helped get a result. It probably wouldn’t have been a drab day if we had a day five but we both knew it was four days coming in. It’s not a decision for us to make but I guess it’s something to look at,” she said.

After the potential threats to men’s Tests and their popularity, the International Cricket Council introduced the talked-about World Test Championship. Pink-ball Tests under the floodlights was also brought forth and pitches are being prepared, keeping in mind the need for result-oriented games. On similar lines, women’s Tests can’t afford to go six years without a result.

In 2017, after Australia and England played the first-ever women’s day-night Test, India are set to become the third team to play with the pink ball on their tour of Australia later this year. With the slow, yet steady progress, the focus stays on popularising women’s Tests, proper advertisements and not a lot of the matches be mere ‘damp squibs’ after four days.

More Tests to start with

From 2011 until date, England have played the most Tests (eight) followed by Australia (five). India and South Africa have taken part in two and one Test respectively. Hence, Mithali Raj’s comments on women’s cricket can’t be dismissed out of sight by any means.

“It’s a good idea to have a five-day Test but [first] we actually have to start [having] Test matches regularly. Having a Test match featuring in a series is important and then take it to five days,” the veteran opined after the recent Bristol Test.

Mark Robinson, England women’s head coach in 2019, also had a similar opinion. “You’ve got to try and get more Tests, and more countries playing Test match cricket. I think we all would agree it would help the development of the players,” he said.

It’s clear that apart from putting emphasis on results, the need for an increase in women’s Tests has become paramount. Countries like West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa have shone in women’s limited-overs cricket and someway, the ICC needs to make room for their partaking.

Test cricket doesn’t often produce results with the odd matches, inexorably, ending in draws. Nevertheless, the more the number of Tests, the better is the chance for results and resultantly, more viewership of the format. A century scored on a fast bowler’s paradise or a five-wicket haul taken on a bowler’s graveyard is likely to conjure more praises if a team gets over the line.

Maybe someday, Ellyse Perry’s century would result in a winning cause. Maybe someday, Sophie Devine and Deandra Dottin would steal the show with their all-round shows in whites. Maybe, someday Shafali Verma would walk up to the podium as a Player of the Match of the winning team. Maybe, there would be a WTC in women’s cricket, someday. Maybe!