Recent Test series have raised questions whether away teams have it too tough. Jonathan Liew argues that the diversity of conditions around the world is something Test cricket should “protect like a family heirloom”.
At various points during the 2017/18 Ashes series – the eighth out of the last nine to have been won by the home side – I tried out a curious hypothetical scenario on various press-box colleagues. Who would win the Ashes on neutral soil – in, say, Dubai?
So many imponderables to ponder. Surely James Anderson’s fine record at the venue would come into play. Then again, perhaps Nathan Lyon would wreak havoc in spin-friendly conditions. And the heat would invariably count in Australia’s favour. After chewing over the issue for some time, studying it from all angles, I reached a single, inescapable conclusion: I didn’t care in the slightest.
That’s just off the top of my head. And in any case, the point here is cricket’s hyperlocalisation is something that should be cherished, not fought. Above all, I like the idea that you can turn up and buy a ticket to watch a game of cricket, and know that if these exact same two teams were playing somewhere else, you would be seeing a different sort of game entirely. Personally, I think that’s pretty neat.
