Test cricket was in stasis for 20 years. Now, it hasnt felt this alive since Bodyline [Video]

Test cricket, that bastion of tradition, has been in a bind over the last two decades. It has wavered between clinging to its heritage of creams and leather and attempting to embrace the gaudy glamour of its short-format siblings.

Millennials were indifferent to the quandary, and it barely registered on the radar of the Instagram-embracing Gen Z. Enter Sam Konstas – a 19-year-old whirlwind of audacity, flair, and fearless shot playing.

His debut on Boxing Day, which sent shockwaves through the game, was a kaleidoscope of audacious batting and high-octane drama that could drag Test cricket out of its late-20th-century stasis into a brave new world.

Konstas’ method is not sustainable – it will bring with it some spectacular failures – but it has opened a window into how the next generation views the way the game …