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4-day or 5-day Test cricket?

4-day or 5-day Test cricket?

  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
sweep_shot said:
Do you think that future generations will care a lot about Test? I personally don't think so.

England is already trying to come up with format like "The Hundred". There's now a new format called T10 and it is starting to gain interest.

Younger people don't have much interest in Test and I think that is applicable worldwide. Many cricketers are leaving Test to prolong their LOI careers. Mohammed Amir is a very good example.

Test format is sustaining a slow death and I think modern Test format will eventually become a thing of the past. They need to modify it to make it appealing to cricketers and regular folks.
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Then let it die with honor. Don't let it ducked over by those who have no love for it.
 
sweep_shot said:
Do you think that future generations will care a lot about Test? I personally don't think so.

England is already trying to come up with format like "The Hundred". There's now a new format called T10 and it is starting to gain interest.

Younger people don't have much interest in Test and I think that is applicable worldwide. Many cricketers are leaving Test to prolong their LOI careers. Mohammed Amir is a very good example.

Test format is sustaining a slow death and I think modern Test format will eventually become a thing of the past. They need to modify it to make it appealing to cricketers and regular folks.
Click to expand...

Test cricket is tough. Have you considered the fact that maybe Aamir & his ilk have left Test cricket because they simply are not good enough/don’t have the fitness to play at that level? Anyways Aamir the mercenary is absolutely not the example any young cricketer should follow.

If Test cricket has to be modified, then it can be done through other ways like the pink ball test or enhancing audience experience - you cant expect people to turn up to sit on concrete benches for days. Reducing the playing days will only decrease the impact of spin or increase the incidence of teams playing for draws & hence will do nothing to save the tests.
 
If the ICC go with 4 day tests after the uproar, they are an absolute joke of an organisation.
 
I prefer no test rather than this 4 day match. I am actually curious to know if test matches even pulls in enough money for ICC to keep it alive or is it on a lifeline?
 
Both but the name test cricket should only be exclusively used for 5 days match to played by us elite cricket nations.

RoW can play 3-4 days cricket or whatever they like. As long as they cannot call it test cricket we elites are fine with it.
 
Former England captain Andrew Strauss believes the traditional Test format shouldn’t be tampered with unless there were enough takers for four-day Test cricket. The former England left-handed opener is a member of the ICC’s Cricket Committee headed by Anil Kumble, which is due to meet at the end of March to deliberate on whether the new format could be adopted.

“If you asked how many people want to reduce Test matches down from five days to four, the answer is probably not that many,” Strauss was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

“My gut feeling is that we should be looking at the whole picture, how Test cricket can be looking as healthy as possible in future, then work back from that. This isn’t something that is being proposed with an agenda behind it. No one wants to change for the sake of it. It should be an easy sell or we shouldn’t be doing it,” he added.

Strauss, however, was of the view that the ICC should take all factors into consideration before taking a call on the matter. “We shouldn’t assume Test cricket is healthy just because it is popular in England. In lots of parts of the world boards are struggling financially and Test cricket is not paying the bills. So we have to look at ways to improve the product for all.

‘Spectacle’

“That’s the spectacle, the cricket itself, the costs, the schedules, the pitches, the balls, the experience. We need a World Test Championship that is meaningful and compelling. The length of the game is only one part of that bigger discussion,” he said.

Strauss also wanted the Ashes to remain as it is and admitted it wouldn’t be easy to curtail the duration of Test cricket in the sub-continent, where the spinners normally came into prominence on the fourth and fifth days. “Test cricket challenges you — it challenges you mentally, it challenges you physically and it challenges you technically. We can talk about financial pressures and that type of stuff. [But] I think the fabric of Test cricket shouldn’t be messed with.

“You want wickets deteriorating on Day Five, you want thrillers that go all the way, there are a lot of really good exciting draws where one team plays it out. Five-day Test cricket is the way to go without a doubt,” he said.

India skipper Virat Kohli had publicly rejected the idea, claiming it wasn’t a good idea to bring changes in Test cricket. Many former greats, including Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath, are against the idea, even though the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that they will support it.

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/cric...onship-ashes-subcontinent/article30536623.ece
 
SENA teams will obviously want 4 day tests to eliminate the role of spin. European and Australian field hockey associations were responsible for the shift to astro turf and look how that hampered Ind/Pak. Asian bloc must be united here, don't fall into the trap of the cunning ECB, otherwise cricket may go down the route of field hockey.
 
light said:
I prefer no test rather than this 4 day match. I am actually curious to know if test matches even pulls in enough money for ICC to keep it alive or is it on a lifeline?
Click to expand...

I highly doubt Test generates money for most boards. It may generate money for big tournaments like Ashes, India-Aus series, India-England series etc.

If SL and West Indies play a Test series, do you think it is profitable? I highly doubt.

Test should still be around for a while but I think it may get modified at some point.
 
Last edited:
sweep_shot said:
I highly doubt Test generates money for most boards. It may generate money for big tournaments like Ashes, India-Aus series, India-England series etc.

If SL and West Indies play a Test series, do you think it is profitable? I highly doubt.

Test should still be around for a while but I think it may get modified at some point.
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Did you not read the previous posts? Agreed that Test cricket is not profitable for everyone, but why should there be a mass change in Test cricket for everybody simply bcoz some countries are not producing good test players? If its not financially viable for SL, WI & their ilk to play test cricket, let them opt out or play 3/4 day test cricket, but why make it difficult for others who prefer good 5 day quality test cricket?
 
dildilpak said:
Did you not read the previous posts? Agreed that Test cricket is not profitable for everyone, but why should there be a mass change in Test cricket for everybody simply bcoz some countries are not producing good test players? If its not financially viable for SL, WI & their ilk to play test cricket, let them opt out or play 3/4 day test cricket, but why make it difficult for others who prefer good 5 day quality test cricket?
Click to expand...

Do you think future generations of England, Australia, and India will keep on liking Test? Most of the present Test fans are generally old people, middle-aged people, and some youngsters. England has already started to experiment with The Hundred because people are losing interests in cricket. Aussies are also focusing heavily on BBL and India on IPL.

Regular people don't really follow Test cricket. Only cricket purists do. I think that will get worse as time progresses.

Not many want to see forward defense. They want to see big sixes and stumps flying.
 
Last edited:
sweep_shot said:
Do you think future generations of England, Australia, and India will keep on liking Test? Most of the present Test fans are generally old people, middle-aged people, and some youngsters. England has already started to experiment with The Hundred because people are losing interests in cricket. Aussies are also focusing heavily on BBL and India on IPL.

Regular people don't really follow Test cricket. Only cricket purists do. I think that will get worse as time progresses.

Not many want to see forward defense. They want to see big sixes and stumps flying.
Click to expand...

I read in another thread that you are a Bangladeshi, so now i get the resistance to Test cricket 😬

Lets worry about others first - England, Aus & India can still sustain test cricket for a few more years.
 
dildilpak said:
I read in another thread that you are a Bangladeshi, so now i get the resistance to Test cricket ��

Lets worry about others first - England, Aus & India can still sustain test cricket for a few more years.
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with that. My favorite sport is not even cricket. I am more of a soccer guy.
 
dildilpak said:
Did you not read the previous posts? Agreed that Test cricket is not profitable for everyone, but why should there be a mass change in Test cricket for everybody simply bcoz some countries are not producing good test players? If its not financially viable for SL, WI & their ilk to play test cricket, let them opt out or play 3/4 day test cricket, but why make it difficult for others who prefer good 5 day quality test cricket?
Click to expand...

Even you must admit that test cricket is on a lifeline. Players are retiring for these t20 leagues. Even fans don't care much these days. Money is not there in test apart from couple of series like ashes - even then.
I have a feeling once the "baby boomer" generation goes away, majority of test interest will die out aswell. In this modern day and time a person has so many other better ways to spend 40h per week.
 
Former India opener Virender Sehwag has thrown his weight behind 5-day Tests and thus, joined the likes of Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri in backing the traditional format over ICC’s proposal to curtail it to four days in a bid to make the format more attractive. In his own inimitable way, the flamboyant opener compared the five-day traditional format to baby diapers and said that they should only be changed when it becomes completely redundant.

“I have always supported change. I captained India in its first T20 game and I am proud of that. I was also part of India’s World T20 winning team in 2007. But five-day Test cricket is romance,” Sehwag said while delivering the seventh Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi Lecture at the BCCI Awards.

“Innovations like names in jerseys and pink ball Tests are fine. But diaper and five-day Tests should only be changed when its finished, when it can’t be used anymore. Five-day Test is not finished. Test cricket is a 143-year old fit person. It has a soul. ‘Char din ki sirf chandni hi hoti hai....Test cricket nahin’ (four days of moon is fine, not Test cricket),” he further added.

The ICC Cricket Committee is all set to meet and discuss the idea of four-day Test matches, but it will, in all likelihood, could get a red flag from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Both the captain and coach have spoken vociferously about sticking with the original format.

“I don’t think that’s fair to the purest format of the game,” Kohli said when asked about four-day Tests.

“How cricket started initially, five-day Test matches was the highest test you can have at international level.It shouldn’t be altered,” he went on to add.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...nder-sehwag/story-c7tiBVXaCgxGEl1U1LW8WM.html
 
But diaper and five-day Tests should only be changed when its finished, when it can’t be used anymore. Five-day Test is not finished. Test cricket is a 143-year old fit person. It has a soul. ‘Char din ki sirf chandni hi hoti hai....Test cricket nahin’ (four days of moon is fine, not Test cricket),” he further added.
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lol, well said by Sehwag.
 
MCC HAS NOTED THE RECENT DISCUSSION REGARDING THE FUTURE OF TEST CRICKET AND THE ICC’S DESIRE TO DEBATE THE INTRODUCTION OF FOUR-DAY TEST CRICKET TO REPLACE THE CURRENT FIVE-DAY FORMAT IN THE WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP FROM 2023.

The MCC Cricket committee and MCC World Cricket committee have recently discussed the issue and although they can see some benefits that four-day Test cricket could bring, both committees believe that Test cricket should continue to be played over five days.


https://www.lords.org/lords/news-stories/mcc-statement-regarding-duration-of-test-matches
 
Personally, I love five-day Tests. But my role isn't to make decisions on what I love: Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts

Does CA have a position on four-day Tests?

Not at this point. We're going to ask ourselves the right questions and the hard questions, develop an informed perspective. Interestingly, there's been like 130-day three-day Tests, 120-odd four-day Tests and there's been 100 Timeless Tests. So Tests haven't always been five days. It's also interesting to see how many matches are finishing inside four days. The data is being considered. Personally, I love five-day Tests. But my role isn't to make decisions on what I love.

The Oz coach and captain have spoken out strongly against the concept. Will you take them into confidence?

Absolutely. We engage deeply with the players on all important issues. Our role will be to try and understand some of the sentiments around five-day Tests.

Why not have four-day Pink Ball Tests and 5-day regular Tests?

I don't think it's a binary discussion of four or five days. There needs to be a balance of head and heart. If it was purely based on the numbers, it doesn't pay respect to the game's history. The concept does raise interesting possibilities like starting Tests on a Thursday, to give fans the maximum opportunity to watch on a Saturday and Sunday.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...ia-ceo-kevin-roberts/articleshow/73359071.cms
 
In olden days, they used to start 5 day Test on Thursday considering that the most interesting two days (3, 4) will be weekend & fans can attend the game. For games where thrilling finish goes to day 5, still interested fans can attend the last day by managing their boss or taking a bit of off, and most people can always follow it from work/school on Monday - the medium has changed, so this “follow” now can happen via tv, internet, text message or streaming. In olden days it was via Radio and in ancient days (of Test cricket) it was via hourly telegraph from the ground!!!!

Not sure why people are thinking that Thursday start needs only a Sunday finish but can not go to Monday!!!!
 
India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly has come out against playing four-day Tests, proposed by the world governing body as a way to squeeze more cricket into a packed calendar.

The International Cricket Council has floated the idea of reducing matches in the World Test Championship by one day from 2023, but Ganguly said officials should not "tinker" with what he calls the best form of cricket.

Four-day Tests have been tried in one-off games between South Africa and Zimbabwe and England against Ireland, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India is among a growing list of critics.

"I am not a big fan of four-day cricket because I feel lot of Test matches will not finish," Ganguly, who turned 48 on Wednesday, said in an online chat hosted by the BCCI.

"When you have four days the approach is different," he said.

"I really feel that there is no need to tinker with those five-day Test matches. And for me Test matches are the toughest and the best form of cricket."

Ganguly, who is rumoured to be in the running for the post of ICC chairman, backs other innovations, however, including day-night Tests.

India, who refused to play a Test under floodlights in Australia in 2018, joined the pink ball party against Bangladesh in Kolkata last year.

The final Test of a two-match series attracted packed crowds at Eden Gardens despite the Test lasting less than three whole days. India won the series 2-0.

"Day-night cricket, one Test a series is important, because cricket needs everyone back," said the former India captain.

"We played that pink Test in Kolkata, I don't think if it was a normal India-Bangladesh Test match we would have one tenth of the people," he said, noting that 150,000 people attended over three days played.

https://www.france24.com/en/20200708-india-s-cricket-boss-ganguly-opposes-four-day-test-plan
 
Three Tests, all scheduled for 5 days brought direct W/L results (one pending) despite significant loss of play due to weather - each one would have been absolute waste of time had those been scheduled for 4 days. This is in UK, where during summer, it's possible to play 8+ hours in a bright, dry day. Imagine in South Asian cricket season (winter) ...................
 
The clowns that were advocating for four-day test matches have really been shown up over the course of the last month. No last day rearguard at Sydney, no historic chase at the Gabba, no double century on debut by Kyle Mayers, and neither of the two ongoing tests at Rawalpindi and Chennai would have held any interest.
 
Last Monetarist said:
The clowns that were advocating for four-day test matches have really been shown up over the course of the last month. No last day rearguard at Sydney, no historic chase at the Gabba, no double century on debut by Kyle Mayers, and neither of the two ongoing tests at Rawalpindi and Chennai would have held any interest.
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Yeah, its pathetic to even talk about 4-days tests. 5-days tests, anyday and everyday!
 
Last Monetarist said:
The clowns that were advocating for four-day test matches have really been shown up over the course of the last month. No last day rearguard at Sydney, no historic chase at the Gabba, no double century on debut by Kyle Mayers, and neither of the two ongoing tests at Rawalpindi and Chennai would have held any interest.
Click to expand...

Using the way 5 day tests have played out to try and show that 4 day tests shouldn't exist is nonsense, in the same way that using a result in a 4 day test to try and argue against 5 days tests is also nonsense.
 
HitWicket said:
Using the way 5 day tests have played out to try and show that 4 day tests shouldn't exist is nonsense, in the same way that using a result in a 4 day test to try and argue against 5 days tests is also nonsense.
Click to expand...

No, it isn't. You are making a blatantly specious argument, given that none of the charm of 4-day matches is lost if the test is scheduled for 5 days, as it's just a quicker test match if it ends in 4 days. The vice versa doesn't apply. So spare me this deliberately misleading rubbish.

The administrators want to squeeze in more meaningless white ball matches by reducing the duration of test matches. If fans don't fight for the primacy of test matches, they'll lose. You lose out a great deal of the narrative if you try and shorten the 5-day format.
 
Last Monetarist said:
No, it isn't. You are making a blatantly specious argument, given that none of the charm of 4-day matches is lost if the test is scheduled for 5 days, as it's just a quicker test match if it ends in 4 days. The vice versa doesn't apply. So spare me this deliberately misleading rubbish.

The administrators want to squeeze in more meaningless white ball matches by reducing the duration of test matches. If fans don't fight for the primacy of test matches, they'll lose. You lose out a great deal of the narrative if you try and shorten the 5-day format.
Click to expand...

Teams will alter their tactics and react differently if the match is 4 days as opposed to 5 (in addition to more overs being played per day), it's a ridiculous argument to make.
 
The current England v Ireland Test is a 4-day game.

Think for the gap in skills between both sides, this is the right duration.

==

England is playing a one-off Test match against Ireland at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London starting Thursday.

Interestingly, the Test will be played across four days. The reason for playing such a 4-day Test is considered to be commercial.

Unlike the usual five-day Test, this is an attempt to make the longest format cricket interesting for the fans and make the game more profitable for the broadcasters.
 
I would say that if test cricket is to survive the future it will have to be squeezed into 3 days.

Starts on a Friday night and finishes on Sunday night. The perfecto weekend! :)
 
gazza619 said:
I would say that if test cricket is to survive the future it will have to be squeezed into 3 days.

Starts on a Friday night and finishes on Sunday night. The perfecto weekend! :)
Click to expand...

Or make it into 2 back to back ODIs type where a result has to happen - no Draws allowed.
 
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