Pakistan's dismal 2022 Test results indicate the need for a longer First-class season

[Savak]

This is the major reason why I am now having a rethink about department cricket. By restricting Pakistan's domestic cricket to just regional cricket, Pakistans current 4 day regional competition is restricted to just 2 months ie October to November and this is where Pakistan's premier pace bowlers ie Shaheen, Naseem, Hasnain, Rauf, Dhani are busy playing for the international side in various T20 and ODI competitions or warming the bench and the end result is that these guys end up losing out on 4 day cricket exposure and experience.

Pakistan needs to have both the department and regional 4 day tournaments at different time slots during the year to address this problem especially during the time slots when these players will be free.

The PCB also needs to organize more A tours for the best domestic, U19 performers and for those pacers they want to graduate to test cricket.

 

[sam_ahm]

Test cricket outside of Big 3 is pretty much dead, I don't think Pakistan Or any other nation out side of Big 3 can afford to have a long first class season or for that matter to even play lot of tests.

As we have seen almost all countries other than Ind, Aus, and Eng are now playing 2 match test series in the next FTP cycle until 2027, so there is no point in investing much on longer FC seasons.

South Africa for example next play a 3 match series some time in 2026. Pakistan play 9 two match series and only 4 three match series.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ( and Zim, Ire, Afg) DO NOT play even a single 3 match series in the next FTP while West Indies play only one.

New Zealand play 11 two match series and only 4 three match series

The focus of all the countries now is on T20 leagues and short form cricket which is T20s and ODIs... Tests, as much as I hate to say this, are just not prioritised by anyone despite the cliched talk of "this is the real format, real test" And all that crap.