‘The Test’ season 2 review: Less drama, more goodwill and unprecedented access to the Australian cricket team

Australian cricket and transitions have normally made for fascinating tales over the final 4 many years. The departure from the poisonous tradition following the Sandpapergate scandal in 2018 to one thing more humane and sensitized was the topic of season one in all  The Test, that launched in 2020. Nearly three years on, the second season sees the males’s team undergo yet one more transition in management, although much less dramatic than the first. 

It would have been very compelling having a fly-on-the-wall documentary on how the Australian dressing room had the rug pulled from beneath by the Indians in the iconic 2020-21 residence sequence. Unfortunately, the second season of  The Test doesn’t cowl that interval; the four-part sequence begins from the 2021-22 Ashes and finishes with the tour of Sri Lanka in June, overlaying simply the Test matches. 

It begins with one other Australian captain’s tearful resignation, that of Tim Paine, following a texting scandal involving a girl. It led to the elevation of Pat Cummins as the new Test captain weeks earlier than the first Test towards England. All alongside, there was additionally the undercurrent with head coach Justin Langer, who apparently lots of the gamers began to resent. 

The passionate and feisty Langer, the down-to-earth Paine and limited-overs captain Aaron Finch mixed to not solely change the team tradition, but additionally ship higher outcomes. But Langer’s model of powerful love obtained too intense for his gamers, and even a 4-0 Ashes win for Australia didn’t please his bosses sufficient to give him a beneficiant extension. Former gamers, largely Langer’s mates, slammed the team and Cummins for being disrespectful. 

Players interviewed for this documentary categorical how safe they felt below their new chief. Cummins got here out with a press release respecting the sentiments retired gamers and analysts felt in the direction of Langer. He added that in the identical vein, he would stand by his gamers too. “Pat handled it like a genius,” says Ashton Agar. 

Season two is actually about Cummins and the respect that gained traction with each sequence. The Cummins period dispelled the fantasy lengthy held in Australian cricket that bowlers can’t be thought-about for the Test captaincy. It’s a miracle of types that Cummins has gotten this far; for years, he was not often match sufficient to final two Tests in a row. Rather than throw in the towel, he understood his physique, persevered, and have become an indispensable member of the fast-bowling assault. 

His gamers credit score him and his shrewd bowling modifications for serving to Australia beat Pakistan after 15 grueling days of Test cricket. His pleasant, amiable nature allowed his mates to categorical themselves freely, like Mitch Marsh declaring that “Patty Cummins is s**t at Call of Duty.” 

It can be to the present’s credit score that beneficiant airtime is given to Usman Khawaja and Australia’s willingness to embrace range, although they nonetheless have a good distance to go in that regard. When quick bowler Scott Boland debuted in Melbourne towards England, he was solely the second Indigenous male participant since Jason Gillespie to play Test cricket for Australia. His debut, and the method he was welcomed by the crowds, turned out to be as exceptional as that piece of trivia. 

Khawaja, by way of his journey with the team over a decade, stays the poster-boy for range. With the filmmakers given a free hand inside the properties of the gamers, the Khawajas of their Sydney residence recall a second from his childhood over lunch. Khawaja recalled how embarrassed he was when his dad would declare that his prodigious eight-year-old son would play for Australia. Khawaja was for lengthy in denial {that a} brown child would stand an iota of an opportunity at senior stage. His dad, who had uprooted the household from Karachi, was more optimistic although. 

Khawaja recounts his struggles with racism throughout a chat with children at the Islamic school in Brisbane. He speaks freely about conquering his demons as he scored one sensible century after one other, at a time when he thought his days as a Test participant had been numbered. Poignantly, he scores a century in his hometown of Karachi. He additionally conducts a quiz on Pakistan to take a look at his mates. 

The season actually takes off from episodes three and 4, when the team goes on tour. With the dynamic and revered Cummins at the helm, the Australians are considered by the locals in Pakistan and Sri Lanka as ambassadors of goodwill. They are grateful {that a} full-strength team had dedicated to a full tour of Pakistan at a time when groups would pull out at the drop of a hat; Sri Lankans wanted cricket as a wholesome distraction with the horrors of its financial disaster and anti-government protests rising by the day. 

There is much less drama in contrast to season one, significantly much less bat-flinging and loud swearing in the change rooms after a dismissal, most likely a sign that gamers have learnt to rein of their feelings, with cameras round. And actually no mind-boggling phrases like “Elite Honesty” and different ‘Langerisms’. Players do open up on their darkest moments, like Glen Maxwell describing his melancholy and subsequent break from the recreation, his anxious look forward to a Test recall, all hinging on Travis Head’s health take a look at. 

Players are beneficiant with access to their properties and intimate settings, as we see David Warner tucking his children to mattress, Cameron Green spending time along with his accomplice, and the friendship between Alex Carey and Head. There are additionally dressing room quirks. A toasted sandwich, recent off the coals, is put in a fridge inside seconds. Who does that anyway? Marnus Labuchagne.        

The second season of The Test is streaming on Amazon Prime Video