Shane Warne’s wrong’un on speeding up Test Cricket

Shane Warne at Lord’s. He wants to press the accelerator on the arena of his greatest triumphs, Test cricket. Picture: Jack Thomas/Getty

Shane Warne is a bundle of nervous energy. Stepping from one foot to the other, spinning a ball with his calloused fingers, six years after he sent a delivery down in anger.

He’s a commentator, a coach. He’s starring in TV commercials. He’s the life of the party. They’ve even named a volcano after him. He never stops — and it’s all at 100 miles an hour.

And now he wants to bring everything else around him up to speed. In fact, he wants to press the accelerator on the arena of his greatest triumphs, Test cricket.

Warnie’s been off at the MCC World Cricket Committee pushing proposals to speed up Tests — shot clocks and free hits for no-balls.

Him and committee chairman Mike Gatting — who, let’s face it, has every reason to stay well away from anything Warne suggests — reckon there is too much “faffing about” in Tests, particularly between overs.

“There were a lot of things discussed, like shot clocks, having a clock in between overs and all types of things,” Warne said.

Hang on a minute Warnie, slow down and take a breath. What you’ve forgotten is that part of the appeal of Test cricket is that it is slow.

The leisurely, soporific nature of a game that ebbs and flows over five days, with momentum drifting one way and then the other, is what it is all about.

Whether we are at the ground, or watching on the couch with a beer or going about our business with the telly on in the background, we sink into its gentle rhythm.

There is time between balls and between overs for reflection, speculation, replays. Time during long periods of not much happening to argue about the swing and the bounce and the angle and the edge. Time to put the kettle on. Time for commentators to fill the dead air with analysis and lies about the old days.

There are moments of intense excitement — a wicket, a DRS or a six — where we sit upright and concentrate, then it’s back to the gentle lull of the Test.

There is a mandatory over rate that teams must comply with — that is about as much speeding up as Test cricket needs.

We all love the crash and bash of the Twenty20 and one-day formats, with wickets and boundaries flowing and flashing lights as the bails fly off and shouting commentators.

But that’s the entrée. The main course is Test cricket. Five days of it, rain permitting, with gaps and space and lots of “faffing about”.

Take a chill pill Warnie — Tests don’t need to be speeded up.