For a long time now, the game has been favouring the batters more than the bowlers.
It is often said that the most beautiful thing about Test cricket is that it always gives a second chance. No matter how difficult things get in the first innings, a player gets to walk out to bat for the second time, trying to make things even. We saw a recent example of this in the Final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 in June. Aiden Markram, who was dismissed cheaply by Mitchell Starc in the first innings, came back to score a match-winning ton in the second.
Spanning over five days and 450 overs bowled across the match, there can be plenty of drama leading up to the result of a Test match. After all the drama across the five-day contest, it can very well end in a draw. There can be centuries, five-wicket hauls. But at the end of the contest, there may be no winner. By principle, one cannot win a Test match without getting the opposition dismissed twice. No matter how many runs a team scores, the prime requirement is always 20 wickets. Failing to rip through the opposition’s batting order will more or less result in a draw.
TBW
0/0
BVB
183/5
AMR
–
TBC
–
ABF
–
GAW
–
SLK
–
TKR
–
NDT
–
ODW
142/7
NDS
–
EDR
–
WDL
–
PD
–
NDSW
118/5
EDRW
116/4
North Delhi Strikers Women beat East Delhi Riders Women by 2 runs
AUST
88/7
BEL
136/6
Belgium beat Austria by 48 runs
AUST
115/7
BEL
153/2
Belgium beat Austria by 38 runs
AUST
136/3
BEL
131/6
Austria beat Belgium by 7 wickets
AUST
–
BEL
75/2
ROM
–
CZR
–
ROM
–
CZR
–
ROM
–
CZR
–
ROM
–
CZR
–
AUST
–
BEL
–
AUST
–
BEL
–
ROM
195/4
CZR
170/7
Romania beat Czech Republic by 25 runs
ROM
157/8
CZR
159/6
Czech Republic beat Romania by 4 wickets
KHTC
147/6
VFB
149/4
VFB Fallersleben beat 1.Kieler HTC by 6 wickets
KSV
173/3
SGFD
137/6
KSV Kings beat SG Findorff by 36 runs
SGFD
152/8
VFB
116/8
SG Findorff beat VFB Fallersleben by 36 runs
SGFD
7/0
KSV
–
LAN
249/9
BB
157/3
DER
120/1
SURR
388/4
YOR
354/7
DURH
74/6
WOR
88/3
GLAM
297/7
NOT
70/2
GLO
343/7
PNG
56/3
DEN
223/8
KWT
–
JER
–
IRE-W
–
ITA-W
–
NED-W
–
GER-W
–
BAN
–
IND
–
Match Called off
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
ALRS
151/7
TTS
152/3
Thrissur Titans beat Alleppey Ripples by 7 wickets
ARKS
143/6
ATR
–
KBTS
–
ALRS
–
TTS
–
CAGS
–
HBT
173/2
GBM
172/7
Hubli Tigers beat Gulbarga Mystics by 8 wickets
SML
–
MGD
200/5
HBT
–
MYW
–
BNB
–
GBM
–
RNC
124/9
YSG
152/8
Yallah Shabab Giants beat Renaissance Challengers by 28 runs
MAT
139/5
MUT
136/5
Majees Titans beat Muscat Thunderers by 5 wickets
ROS
–
IAI
–
YSG
–
MUT
–
RNC
–
IAI
–
ROS
–
MAT
–
AUS
193/10
SA
277/10
South Africa beat Australia by 84 runs
IPS
189/9
GCT
211/8
Gold Coast beat Ipswich by 22 runs
TMB
271/5
NSBB
193/8
Toombul beat Northern Suburbs by 78 runs
SSC
–
SGR
–
WYN
–
RLS
–
TMB
–
VLLY
–
SBB
–
IPS
–
WSS
–
UOQ
–
IPS
–
TMB
–
BIP
–
WEF
–
NOS
–
OVI
–
LOS
–
SOB
–
BIP-W
–
WFW-W
150/3
NOS-W
–
OIW-W
–
LSW-W
–
SBW-W
–
MR-A
134/9
AS-A
135/4
Adelaide Strikers Academy beat Melbourne Renegades Academy by 6 wickets
NTS
135/10
PSA
139/3
Perth Scorchers Academy beat Northern Territory Strike by 7 wickets
PS
144/9
NEP
143/7
Pakistan Shaheens won by 1 run
CHK
–
HHA
–
ACOM
–
MS-A
–
BANA
–
AS-A
–
NOSK
114/6
KASS
110/10
Noida Super Kings beat Kanpur Superstars by 4 wickets
LUF
99/4
GOLS
–
KARS
–
MEMA
–
GOLS
–
KASS
–
Having an additional batter in the side might depend on a lot of technical factors. The pitch, weather conditions, and historical data of the venue might all play an important role. But for a team that walks in with a bowler who can bat must also be mindful of a pure bowler sitting out at the expense of the decision made. The fine balance between a pure bowler and his skill as opposed to a bowler who can bat, can put some heads in a spin!
In the new day and age, the game, let alone Test cricket, has undergone various developments. The two-tier system in the World Test Championship cycle remains one of the most exciting talking points in the fraternity. Having said that, there have been advancements in terms of day-night Tests, which include the introduction of the pink ball. But most importantly, the format has seen a change in the tempo. Teams play Test matches today at a much faster pace than they once did. Though one can call it the Bazball effect, it is hardly possible to put a finger on what has led to this transformation.
Amid these mountains of runs, it is no wonder that teams are willing to add batting options to their arsenal. But the question remains, at what cost? In the process of strengthening the batting, are teams weakening the other dimension, which is extremely crucial to their chances? Though the results might still go in favour of the teams playing an extra batter or all-rounder at the cost of a specialist bowler, is it rewarding in the long term? There are many questions which indicate that batting depth in Test cricket might simply be an illusion. It is no secret that having runs on the board will do a world of good. But there’s a lack of willingness to have quality bowlers who can skittle the opposition out. Let’s look at it with a recent example.
Kuldeep Yadav, one of India’s best spinners, did not find himself in the playing XI in any of the five Tests in England. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ended on a high note for the Indians. But there were chances that they could have won the trophy. The left-armer was on the verge of selection in the fourth Test in Manchester. But the team management decided to go with either Anshul Kamboj or Shardul Thakur to add batting depth.
Now here’s an astonishing stat! All-rounders in Test cricket are extremely rare. There are only two players in the world, to date, to hold a batting average at least 20 runs higher than their bowling average in the longest format. They are Sir Gary Sobers and Jacques Kallis. A certain metric suggests that to be a successful all-rounder, one must score 49 runs and pick two wickets in every game. Only 13 players have registered these numbers to date. And hence, most bowlers who can bat are not genuine all-rounders. They possess the skills and the ability to be one for sure. But they are just players who add some buffer to the batting order.
ALSO READ:
In the game’s recent history, many teams have made the need to have bowlers who can bat quite evident. The point does not lie in their ability or lack thereof. It lies in what a team loses out on.
For instance, on spin-assisting wickets like Manchester and Edgbaston, India might have missed out on a huge advantage. In the second Test at Edgbaston, this factor did not come into the picture because of Shubman Gill and Akash Deep’s brilliance. But in the first innings of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, things might have been different.
For a long period now, the teams have been focusing on bowlers who can bat. But why don’t they think about looking for batters who can bowl? Then an opener who cannot bowl would not stand a chance against someone who can roll their arm over. These sentiments often highlight the unfair burden on specialist bowlers to sharpen their skills in both dimensions of the game. On the other hand, the team never pushes the batting towards leaning on the bowling angle.
Along with taking the brunt of being a nightwatchman, bowlers often find themselves warming the bench because they are too sharp with their skills. They end up feeling like they should have honed their batting a bit more, rather than becoming specialists. The game clearly seems to lean towards the batters.
One of the advantages that a long batting order provides is depth. In situations where there is a collapse and a team is reeling at 20/4, batting depth helps. But on the flipside, teams struggle to pick 20 wickets due to a lack of bowling options. And this does not prove to be fruitful every time. This is because the bowlers would be forced to take an extra burden on their shoulders. With the growing pace and volume of the game, it is easy to get injured. All these factors indicate the lopsided bias towards batting as specialist bowlers are left warming the bench in Test cricket.
