5 things to look forward to from the second half of 2018
After a topsy-turvy first half of 2018, we enter the second half of the year hoping to get some more enthralling action on the field. A range of high octane series will greet cricket viewers across the globe as the players look to dust off the rust post the Indian Premier League and get set to wear their respective national team's colors once again.
Here are five things to look forward to from the last six months of 2018:
#5 Will there be more four-day Test matches?
Towards the end of 2017, South Africa and Zimbabwe played out the first ever four-day day-night Test match at Port Elizabeth. The game was the fruition of several days of mixed feelings on whether the basic fulcrum of the format should be tinkered with or not.
Cricket South Africa decided to go ahead with the experiment and it proved to be a one-sided affair with the hosts thumping the visitors by an innings and 120 runs to end the game inside two days.
Since it's inception in 2015, the Day-Night tests have started to find acceptance around the world with the likes of Pakistan and England joining Australia to play the format on home turf. There is no doubting that it does come with its own drawbacks, but it sure does add value to a format on which doubts are raised almost every day on whether it would survive or not.
Four-day cricket may not have found acceptance among all cricketing bodies or players, but like South Africa did, it is certainly an experiment that other countries could try this year to see if it attracts more crowd at venues.
Perhaps one of the England-Sri Lanka Tests could be tried as a four-day experiment to see if attract more crowds in that part of the world or the Proteas could go into experiment mode once again and try it out in the series against Pakistan at home.