Getting Through the Test

Sports documentaries are popular among sports fans for good reason—they let viewers inside the locker room where players are debating tactics. On the other hand, they get a six when they engage and impress non-fans in the game. After viewing this three-part documentary on Test cricket, I found the five-day contests to be even more fascinating than the very entertaining Twenty20 format.

India vs. Australia in the first match of the series takes place at the ICC World Test Championship in England. Virat Kohli, the captain of India, is seen making long shots. Before long, the ashes come into focus.

On the pitch, feelings like shame, victory, sacrifice, bravery, and respect surface as the five-match series gets underway. This twice-yearly occasion is a time capsule.

In the second episode, you are transported to the second Test match during the Ashes, when Jonny Bairstow is being dismissed by wicketkeeper Alex Carey tossing the stumps. It benefits both Australian producers and the series by being shown honestly. It also reminds me of the Punjab Kings’ (then Kings XI Punjab) encounter against the Rajasthan Royals, when Ashwin, the team’s captain, tears out a stump identical to this one to send Jos Buttler back into the pavilion.

Concerns over the game’s essence were voiced back then. Booing and sloganeering became part of the trip, and the few English cricket fans at the Ashes matches weren’t gracious enough.

Another touching moment occurs as Nathan Lyon, batting with an injured leg, battles through to add runs to the scoreboard in his 100th Test match.

The perfect moment, saved for the conclusion, is provided by the 146th series in the history of the Ashes. You also get to see a another side of these cricket players: as sons, husbands, and dads who experience pressure during games, but also as fallible, unsuccessful, and frail human beings at pivotal times. The one and only criticism is that it would have been preferable to see a conversation with important members of the opposing teams. Their perspective would have given this one-sided story further dimensions.

In bits and pieces, the must-watch documentary praises cricket and the very “spirit of cricket,” transcending separating elements like “teams and countries.”