quarters despite having lost safety Eddie Jackson to

Twenty-two maidens on the trot. One scoring shot in 176 balls. And no, the match didnt take place during the fearful 1950s or the soporific 1960s but in Pallekele less than a fortnight ago.Then there was Roston Chase at Sabina Park the following week, capping five wickets in an innings in his second Test with a match-saving century against India that coaxed beams aplenty from King Vivi himself. And then there was that thrilling climax at Edgbaston.As for what links these geographically and contextually disparate feats, need we say any more? Put it this way: had the Saatchi brothers been commissioned to produce an advert promoting the merits of the five-act play, they couldnt have done any better.Lets rewind 50 years, to Garry Sobers summer of summers. Record crowds thronged to Lords and Trent Bridge; come the end of Englands four-day dead-rubber stroll at The Oval, aggregate turnstile clicks had swollen to more than 400,000. This, though, was profoundly untypical of the times. The year before and the year after, interest in the dozen Tests against New Zealand, South Africa, India and Pakistan was such that the only attendances deemed fit for public consumption in Wisden were for the two Lords Tests of 1965.In keeping with its status as guardian and defender of the games principles, the yellow brick road led the prosecution. Englands Ashes tour of 1962-63 and the Indian venture of 1963-64 were summed up, respectively, as grim and drab. In 1965, editor Norman Preston fulminated against 1964s commonplace [and] flat home Ashes series, one that placed far too much emphasis on the determination not to lose. True, noted Preston, the buoyant West Indians of 1963 did not, for the most part, score any faster, but they certainly conveyed the impression of enjoying themselves. The solution was radical: Why not try shorter Tests?Nor did the call for brighter cricket let up. In the 1967 Wisden, the Editors Notes were headlined English cricket at the crossroads. The paucity of turnstile action was blamed on pretty much everything: poor pitches, low standards, lack of personalities, an absence of vigour and variety. Hell, even an enterprising if ludicrous proposal for a one-day County Championship (the first limited-overs tournament had sputtered into life in 1963) was seriously discussed.The most significant omen, nevertheless, could be found in the bottom line: despite the Great Garfield, despite Wes and Charlie and Lance and Rohan and Basil and Conrad and Seymour, despite those historic crowds, profits for that 1966 tour were barely half what they had been for the previous West Indies visit.Fast-forward half a century and what do we find? A world where tours are more accurately described as long weekends and profits are about as newsworthy as an AB de Villiers play-and-miss; a world where bums on seats are often in inverse proportion to the drama and quality of the cricket - and about as relevant as broadcasting fees were in 1966.And so to the latest wheeze - a Test championship, formally proposed by ICC chief executive Dave Richardson and supported by Anil Kumble and his star-studded ICC Cricket Committee. If it wasnt quite the centurys most promising fillip for the planets most anachronistic and scorned exposition of excellence, that was only because the news broke during a remarkable week that also saw MCC announce that, however belatedly, it was considering regulating the depth of bats and the thickness of their edges.Those determined to find fault with the attendant plans for promotion and relegation have been predicting an end to West Indies tours of England, but if what Sobers successors do best in the remaining four-fifths of the century is hit sixes to extraordinary parts, uproot multiple stumps and catch the uncatchable, does it really matter what format they excel in? Caribbean youngsters emboldened by non-cricketing achievers such as Usain Bolt and Trinidads footballers are now more likely than ever to be inspired by joy, self-expression, immediacy and dynamism than patience, stoicism and cussedness - as Junes ODI defeats of South Africa and Australia reaffirmed. As he lounged on his cloud, the late Tony Cozier, whose final years were dominated by despair, would surely have beamed with approval.Since crickets not-so swinging sixties, of course, spectator sport has been radically transformed by technology and money, going from being a cheap, reliable schedule-filler to the very foundation stone of the planets media empires. Its reach has increased an unimaginable number of folds, bringing the very best of the competitive arts to poor villages, far-flung towns and war-ravaged nations, while reducing the actual eyewitnesses to walk-on roles. Indeed, the very notion of spectating has been redefined. And once those clever virtual-reality people get their act together, food and booze proceeds will doubtless go the way of the tour profit.All in all, then, things could be a great deal worse for the Test match, whose 140th birthday next March makes the old boy the longest-running popular show in the annals of intercontinental ball games, not to mention the most historically multiracial (hard as it is to countenance these days, the British Empire did have the odd redeeming feature), yet simultaneously the most profoundly un-21st century. That it survives at all is a minor miracle.Let us return, then, to the latest proposed remedies. Understandably Bangladesh have raised objections to a two-division Test circuit, likewise Sri Lanka, even though the quality of the new generation of batsmen and spinners led by Kusal Mendis and Lakshan Sandakan suggests that fears of relegation will prove short-lived. Joining the naysayers is the BCCI, on the basis, as new president Anurag Thakur explained, politicians hat firmly in place, that the smaller countries will lose out and the BCCI wants to take care of them. Just as it wants, presumably, to take care of business by changing tack and inviting Bangladesh for regular tours. There are worse ways, one supposes, to ensure the minnows continue to vote with India. As for the baggy greens, David Peever, the Cricket Australia chairman, has thrown his not inconsiderable weight behind two of the cornerstone proposals for revitalisation, the two-tiered structure and day-night contests, yet not, significantly, the notion of four-day Tests. This column is inclined to nod its support with considerable zest.Switching to 100 overs per day and 400 per match is by no means a preposterous idea. Even for those of us to whom dilatory rates are only irksome when the fielding team is striving to halt a fourth-innings chase, the subtraction of 50 overs need not necessarily be detrimental. Besides, however natural it is to feel irate at being short-changed - and the 120 balls delivered by England in two hours at Edgbaston certainly pushed even us tolerant apologists to breaking point - perhaps too much is made of them in the age of the DRS.By the same token, however, the elements tease, taunt and torment cricket like no other sport, and unless we actually crave a revival in the number of stalemates, to voluntarily shed a day - particularly when so many Tests are now played during the northern hemispheres wettest months - sounds a lot like a suicide note.Which brings us back to those mesmerising passages in Pallekele and Kingston: in neither case - thanks to rain - would the concluding events have occurred had either contest been confined to four days. Come to think of it, all of the most gripping encounters in the annals of Test cricket - Sydney 1894, Brisbane 1960, Headingley 1981, Madras 1986, and Kolkata 2001, each of which resulted in a tie or else victory after following on - have required at least five days. By way of ramming the point home, all bar the Leeds affair required the equivalent of more than 400 six-ball overs.For further evidence, consider this: of the 60 Tests that have begun since the start of 2015 (up to but not including this weeks Zimbabwe-New Zealand affair), 32 have gone into the fifth day. Of the remaining 28, five have involved the three lightweights, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.Here in Limeyland, needless to add, climatic considerations are always uppermost. There is, nonetheless, a faint hint of irony that, while there had never been any need for timeless affairs, this was the last nation to formally extend Tests from four days to five - a reflection of the havoc wrought on uncovered pitches by unseasonal weather. The first season of five-dayers, furthermore, was in 1948 - somewhat surprising given that the previous summers series against South Africa had produced three decisive results in four days or fewer. That a couple of cracking matches saw time run out doubtless motivated the change.In the event, three of 1948s five Ashes Tests spanned five days, and although there was a patronising reversion to three for New Zealands visit the following year - Walter Hadlees tourists duly repaid such arrogance by drawing all four Tests - five became the norm when West Indies calypsoed into town in 1950 and took the four-set rubber 3-1.Small wonder, all in all, that a poll published in the latest issue of the Cricketer found 87% of readers voting against the 20% reduction. The stats may not lie about the rise in scoring rates or the prevalence of early finishes, but why take the risk?Despite shortening attention spans and alternative attractions, as Mike Brearley reasoned in the Times, classical music thrives and grows, books are still printed. And the Test match still captivates. 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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Its no surprise that Alabama brings a formidable, aggressive defense that ranks among the nations best into the Iron Bowl.The twist: Now, Auburn can make the same claim.The 16th-ranked Tigers have the programs best defense in years coming into Saturdays showdown with the top-ranked Crimson Tide, which still probably sets the standard among college defenses.Its the best defense in college football, Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. I think thats pretty obvious.Auburns is pretty good, too. Both have defensive fronts that can punish runners and quarterbacks alike, with playmakers in the secondary and linebackers who can cover some ground.The Tide ranks second nationally in scoring defense, giving up 11.4 points per game. Auburns allowing 14.3 points on average, seventh-best nationally.The Tigers havent ranked better than 48th in that category in the past seven seasons.Theyve improved greatly since last season, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said of Auburns defense. When we went into this season, we felt like this had a chance to be one of our better defenses, at least since Ive been here. Each week it seems like theyve gotten better.Theyre stopping the run very well. Were not giving up a lot of explosive plays in the pass or run game and our red zone defense has been excellent.The game features two defenses that excel at stopping the run but also some of the Southeastern Conferences best pass rushers.Alabama has Jonathan Allen (seven sacks), Tim Williams (8.0) and Ryan Anderson (6.5). Auburns Carl Lawson actually clocks in as the Iron Bowl leader with nine sacks, pairing with tackle Montravius Adams to lead a defensive front that is talented and fairly deep.Theyre very physical and aggressive, Tide coach Nick Saban said. Theyve got several very good pass rushers. A combination of all those things has made them probably the most effective front weve played aggainst all year.ddddddddddddThe same undoubtedly goes for Auburns offense. The Tigers lead the SEC in rushing, but face the nations best defense when it comes to stopping the run. Alabama opponents are averaging just 68.9 yards on the ground with only three rushing touchdowns.The fact that the Tide is also second nationally in sacks per game bolsters those numbers, too. Auburn, meanwhile, hasnt allowed a rushing touchdown in the past eight games.Alabama remains loaded with defensive stars. Allen is a finalist for the Bednarik Award given to the nations top defensive player. Leading tackler Reuben Foster is a Butkus Award finalist as the nations top linebacker.The Tide hasnt allowed a touchdown in the last nine-plus quarters despite having lost safety Eddie Jackson to a broken leg and having to shift cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick over. The defense has even scored nine TDs.Auburns defense has excelled in different ways. The Tigers trail only Florida nationally in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score just 67 percent of the time after penetrating the Tigers 20-yard line. Theyre also tops with 65 passes broken up.The game gives former colleagues a chance to match wits. First-year Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele worked on Alabamas staff two years ago in Lane Kiffins first season running the Tide offense.Kiffin has led a transformation of `Bamas offensive style that now features the running abilities of freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts.I personally think hes got a creative offensive mind, Steele said. Hes very quick and creative. He calls the game with no fear and his players do things he puts it in their hands to execute. He does a great job of that.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '