After the rise in popularity of T20I format in cricket, the interest of fans in Test matches has decreased. To maintain the popularity of Test cricket, some changes have been made in it.
Players have changed the way Test cricket is played now, now batsmen play with aggression and most of the test matches are won. However, there was a time when most Test matches ended in a draw. The result did not come out after the game was played for five whole days.
In today’s time still many test matches gets drawn. However, many matches get over in two to three days as well. The shortest Test match in cricket history was over in about an hour. A total of 61 balls were played in that match.
After this the umpires stopped the match. This match was played in 1998 between England and West Indies. In this match, the umpires canceled the match to save the players. The match was not completed due to bad pitch.
What was the whole matter?
The Test match between West Indies and England started at Sabina Park in Jamaica. The West Indies team in 1998 was very dangerous. England won the toss and decided to bat first and the Caribbean bowlers started wreaking havoc. Physio came to the ground six times within an hour. Three England batsmen were also dismissed. After this England captain Mike Atherton reached the umpires and asked to cancel the match. Atherton said that if the match continues, the batsmen will keep getting injured and someone may even get a fatal injury.
The umpires for this match were Steve Bucknor and Srinivas Venkataraghavan. Both talked for a long time. After this it was decided to cancel the match. This match will be remembered by cricket lovers for a long time.
The pitch made for this match already had a lot of cracks. In such a situation, the bowlers were getting unusual bounce and the batsmen were not able to predict it. The balls were hitting the bodies of the batsmen and they were getting hurt. After this, the cricket boards of all countries insisted on making normal pitches and now such pitches are not made.