England, India series showed the magic of five-match Test series

The recently concluded five-match Test series between India and England dished up some of the most riveting Test cricket to be played.

Test cricket is like a good stew, the longer it cooks the better it gets. But it also needs quality ingredients and with India and England, it added some of its finest. 

It was also garnished with just the right amount of aggression, silliness and drama to make the viewing even more compelling. 

There were ignored handshakes, ridiculous statements to the media, reckless run-outs, fractured feet and shoulders, several remarks about various balls and their sizes and so much in between.

By the time it was all done and dusted on Monday morning in an utterly absurd 56 minutes of cricket at The Oval, in Kennington, South London, hands were finally shaken and both sides acknowledged the other’s contribution to a series that will live long in the memories of those that watched the match. This despite the series ending in a stalemate at 2-2. 

The excitement developed into suspense and thrill that can only be created by a Test series of this length.

Statistically, the series was compelling as well. In total, 7,187 runs were scored by both sides, that’s the second most in a series ever and the most in a five-match Test series.

Across the series there were a staggering 21 centuries, which ties the most ever in the history of the game. And despite the high scores, it was nearly equally high from both sides with the first innings gap being under 30 runs in three of the five Test matches.

In this context, the bowlers suffered somewhat but when they did strike, it was mostly by rattling the stumps. In total, 45 wickets fell by bowled dismissal, the most in a Test series since 1984. 

And this was all only possible because of the length of the tour.

Proteas miss out

Test cricket is great. The longer the length of a series the better. Narratives are allowed to develop, and teams find out things about themselves and their opposition that they wouldn’t in any other cricket situation. 

But the format, and particularly the lengthy series, is dying a slow death outside of the Big Three, which consists of India, Australia and England – who regularly play each other in five-match series. India have toured both.

South Africa are champions of the format. They won the World Test Championship (WTC) final in England against Australia in June. The only way that victory could have been a bigger middle finger to cricket’s current status quo would have been if India were somehow involved as well.

Yet, the likelihood of South Africa hosting a five-match Test series in the next decade is extremely low. It’s not that the champions of the format aren’t good enough to play in a series as gripping as the one India and England participated in; it’s that South Africa can’t afford it financially. 

Although the England Cricket Board is considering hosting South Africa in a five-match series in 2028, as it would fall in a year between their hosting India and Australia.

South Africa’s next home Test will only be in October 2026, when they host Australia, the match will be their first on home soil since the WTC final. That’s 16 months on.

Financial matters

The reason for South Africa’s lack of Test cricket is that it costs more than R2-million to host a match. That’s R10-million across five matches. 

And unless those matches are against either India, England or Australia, there is no chance of breaking even, never mind making a profit. 

When South Africa do host one of the Big Three, Cricket South Africa (CSA) would prefer a smattering of white ball matches thrown in, instead of the extra few Test matches. This is because one white-ball match’s broadcast revenue is equal to the amount made across one Test match. 

Put more simply, three hours of cricket makes CSA the same amount of money as five days of cricket. And when money is tight, those extra matches matter. 

South Africa makes about R140-million, through broadcast revenue for each match it hosts against India. 

Test nations outside the Big Three have not been involved in a Test series of more than three matches since England toured South Africa for a four-match series in 2019/20.

The Proteas’ last five-match Test series was 20 years ago, when they hosted England in 2004/05. In fact, South Africa’s last eight Test series have only consisted of two-match series, dating back to 2022.

Unless the International Cricket Council’s financial model changes soon, where teams outside of the Big Three receive a bigger piece of the pie or Test cricket by some miracle becomes more valuable to host, it might be another 20 years before South Africa sees another five-match Test series on its shores. DM