The ICC is in talks to introduce shorter Tests for the next cycle
The health of Test cricket has been a constant topic since the inception of limited-overs cricket. As changes such as coloured uniforms, black sight screens, white balls, fielding restrictions and playing under lights started being introduced the focus has shifted towards making things shorter and more glamorous.
The birth of T20 cricket in the 2000s and overwhelming focus on the shortest format forced countries to buck the trend of preparing traditional pitches for Test cricket and make them more result-oriented.
That brought in new additions to Test cricket such as adding player names and jersey numbers along with Day-Night Tests with the pink ball. The World Test Championship (WTC) from 2019 onwards was ICC’s biggest attempt to put Test cricket on the pedestal which it has succeeded in doing.
However, the long drawn-out two-year cycle as well as the scheduling which sees richer Boards playing five-match series with their fellow elite nations, has drawn flak. England, who is among the big three with India and Australia, have been pessimistic about the WTC schedule as they failed to make the final in three editions.
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However, the new proposal to introduce four-day Tests for the benefit of smaller nations has been opposed by the top cricketers. However, former India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik threw his weight behind the proposal and felt that it is the right thing to go forward.
“I completely agree with that. It’s better to have four-day cricket. It’s slightly more cost efficient two you’re almost always bound to get a good result out of a three-match series so it makes a lot of sense in my books,” Karthik said during a discussion on Sky Sports Cricket.
While talking about South Africa’s recent WTC win against Australia despite prioritising their flagship SA20 competition, former England captain Nasser Hussain opposed the idea as he felt that reducing the time or overs or balls can never be a solution to making Test exciting.
“I have to say I’m not a fan of four-day Test cricket. I think it’s the thin end of the wedge if you start going to four-day matches. I don’t see why we are constantly trying to make things quicker and quicker – 50 overs, 20 overs, 100 balls, 10 overs, (similarly,) 5 days (to) 4 days. Five-day Test match cricket for me is the absolute pinnacle, but I understand why some countries have to do it,” Hussain explained.
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