International Cricket Council president David Morgan has suggested that Test matches could be reduced from five to four days as part of a major overhaul of the game’s traditional format.
The suggestion comes because of the need for the sport to remain relevant in an increasingly time-poor world and as a reaction to the increasing popularity to the Twenty20 format.
“Another thought that many people have, that we are examining is whether Test match cricket can be played over four days rather than five,” Morgan told the India Today magazine.
“I would be very surprised if within a year you haven’t seen some significant changes in Test match cricket.”
Morgan believed it wouldn’t be too difficult for players to make a mental shift to playing from five days to four.
He said that Test cricket needed to be tweaked and that special cricket balls must be made to facilitate night Tests in white clothing.
“We need better over-rates, better pitches that give a good balance between bat and ball and we need to consider day-night Test cricket,” Morgan said.
“There is great support for it, the issue is the colour of the ball and the quality of the ball.
“It would be a pity if Test match cricket – day-night – had to be played with a white ball and therefore coloured clothing.
“We are looking very closely at ball manufacturing design that replicates a red ball, maybe an orange ball, a ball that could still allow us to play in white clothing and still at night.”
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drewster said | July 1st 2009 @ 2:49pm | Report comment
Why? so we can have more drawn matches.
Choppy said | July 1st 2009 @ 3:03pm | Report comment
If it goes to four days, then it’s no longer Test cricket in my opinion.
JohnB said | July 1st 2009 @ 3:28pm | Report comment
Presumably it would be something between 110 and 115 overs per day, to add up to the same match length in terms of overs as presently (or close to it anyway). Effectively (unless you can magically dramatically improve over rates – and how do you do that without potentially compromising the quality of play?) that is 4 x 2 hour sessions at around 14 overs per hour. To fit that in, in most parts of the world you would either have to start much earlier in the day, or play at night. Starting earlier is I assume not possible (dew has too much influence). Play at night and the ball is the problem as the article says, so until they solve that one this is all pretty idle chatter. Even once a solution to the “ball problem” is found, there are still in my view 2 main issues – first, what is the physical effect on the players, and therefore the effect on the quality of play, of increasing the length of the day in that way? Do you end up with a bunch of automata going through the motions in the last session? Second, you lose the element of the crumbling 5th day pitch. Maybe that’s viewed as a good thing in some circles.
Incidentally, I find it odd that keeping white clothing would be regarded as a critical issue. If you really did have to make a much more fundamental change such as going to 4 day day/night games, and you could only do that with a white ball (and of course the current white balls would not be good enough so there’d have to be a lot of work there too), the colour of the clothes would start to look a pretty peripheral issue.
Albert Ross said | July 1st 2009 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
For mine Test cricket died in Durban on the 14th March 1939.
Vikas said | July 1st 2009 @ 3:31pm | Report comment
We have seen now days there are many changes to rules of cricket but former cricket fans don’t like any chnge in Test cricket but it is required in order to face the flood of T20 otherwise Test cricket will become part of history.Now there is debate on day night cricket test,but kukabura have not made a suitable ball for this type of cricket.Specialist are supporing pink ball for this cricket.
Vikas said | July 1st 2009 @ 3:33pm | Report comment
We have seen now days there are many changes to rules of cricket but former cricket fans don’t like any chnge in Test cricket but it is required in order to face the flood of T20 otherwise Test cricket will become part of history.Now there is debate on day night cricket test,but kukabura have not made a suitable ball for this type of cricket.Specialist are supporing pink ball for this cricket.
Cracker said | July 1st 2009 @ 4:17pm | Report comment
Albert if you were about in 1939 you have seen a few more innings than me. What happened?
I would have thought that the rise of bubblegum 20/20 would have helped to preserve test cricket as the ultimate form of the game. Sure there is a lot of 20/20 going around but the tests are what people savour and remember. We need to keep an open mind to change but some of the ideas being floated sound a bit dubious. Someone who likes 20/20 but finds tests boring is not going to change their tune just because tests are 4 days instead of 5. The ICC should think hard about the future direction of the game, not just go public with every new idea they come up with.
vinay verma said | July 1st 2009 @ 4:29pm | Report comment
The ICC is a dithering old body. From time to time it will throw ideas out to see what the public is really thinking. If they were in touch with the pulse of the game they wouldn.t be flying kites.
vinay verma said | July 1st 2009 @ 4:32pm | Report comment
Sorry,guys,one more thing. There are no bosses in the ICC,only minions working for TV Broadcasters.
NashRambler said | July 2nd 2009 @ 9:42am | Report comment
My understanding is that in the past there were 3-day Tests and 4-day Tests. The 5-day Test has only become the standard format in the past 50 years or so.