Test cricket refers to a discipline of cricket where a match can last between three to five days. Often considered as the epitome of all cricket formats, the result of a test match can be a win, loss, tie, or a draw.
Cricket is played since the 16th century. However, matches began to officially get the “test” status starting from 1890. Based on the works of former cricket pundits, the first test match was recorded to be held in 1877. Moreover, not every test match was played for a definite time period. There were a total of 99 matches in the history of cricket between 1877 to 1939 that were tagged as “Timeless tests”.
Timeless tests are exactly what their name implies. Teams play each other until a result is produced. This eliminates the possibility of a match ending in a draw. Most of the matches played in Australia during these years were timeless tests. Apart from Australia, teams like England, West Indies, and South Africa have been a part of timeless tests.
Only two timeless tests did not produce results. The reason for these matches ending in a draw was that the visiting side would miss their ships back home. The longest timeless test lasted for 12 days and was played between England and South Africa in 1939. There were nine playing days. One day was washed out due to rain and two days were rest days. Since England had a ship to catch, the match ended in a draw.
The longest timeless test that produced a result was between Australia and England in 1929. The match lasted eight days and Australia won the match by five wickets. A total of 20,000 people witnessed this spectacle on the eighth day. The advent of the second World War marked the demise of timeless tests.
Timeless tests take away the concept of declaring an innings. Despite the advantage of producing a result, the format was discontinued and abandoned as it was not possible to put them on a schedule. Moreover, it was a topsy-turvy character on the commercial front, making the it difficult to thrive.
Timeless tests made a buzz when a proposal was made of their return as a format to be followed in the final of the World Test Championships. However, the notion was dropped.
