NASSER HUSSAIN: Slow start, but this pitch could spark into life

Ball has dominated bat in Test cricket over the last couple of years, whether it has swung and seamed in England, spun square in India or done a bit in the Ashes on what have traditionally been flat Australian pitches.

The general rule is that when ball slightly dominates bat, it makes for great viewing, although I would argue — with some agreement from England batsmen, no doubt — that it has potentially gone too far towards the bowlers recently.

On the flip side, we have been spoiled as viewers with lots of results cricket, lots of entertainment and very few dull draws.

Yet in the last fortnight, we have returned to a bygone era of Test matches best described as slow burners, when it took five days to possibly produce a result and draws were more commonplace. 

An era in which batting conditions were a lot friendlier.

I don’t mind people paying good money to watch being given a full five days of Test cricket but there is a balance. 

Were England fans getting good value in Antigua? Did they enjoy their experience? Or would they have preferred a quicker pitch and a quicker game?

The match that finished on Wednesday between Pakistan and Australia provided the thrill of the fifth day fight for a draw, fine Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan hundreds and a home team rearguard of great character. 

You can get a lot of pride out of a hard-fought draw.

To be honest, I don’t mind flat pitches if they deteriorate. The one in Antigua didn’t and the two in Rawalpindi and Karachi haven’t. 

For me, a pitch must offer some lateral movement — either up and down or sideways — if not at the start of a game, by its end.

And there have been some signs at the Kensington Oval, despite the slow progress on the opening morning, which are warning me