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[VIDEOS] Should Test matches be reduced to four days instead of five days?

Should Test matches be reduced to 4 days instead of 5 days?

  • Yes, most matches finish in 4 days anyway

    Votes: 8 44.4%

  • No, the 5th day is important for Test cricket

    Votes: 10 55.6%
  • Total voters
    18
BouncerGuy

BouncerGuy

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There has been a lot of talk about whether Test matches should be shortened to four days instead of five. People who support this idea say modern cricket is faster, with most matches ending in four days anyway.

They believe the fifth day is not needed. But others think the fifth day is very important and makes Test cricket special, giving teams more time for big comebacks and strategies.

We've had some really quick Test matches in 2023-2024 already:
  • South Africa vs India: This one was over super fast, in just over two days!
  • Australia vs West Indies: Australia won easily in three days.
  • England vs. Ireland: Ireland got hammered and lost in three days.
  • New Zealand vs South Africa (2nd Test): New Zealand won on day four.
  • West Indies vs England (3rd Test): West Indies won on day four, too.
  • India vs Bangladesh (1st Test): India thrashed Bangladesh in 4 days.
  • India vs New Zealand (1st Test): Kiwis dominated India at home and won in 3 days.
  • India vs New Zealand (2nd Test): Another thrashing for India at the hands of Kiwis in 3 days.
  • India vs New Zealand (3rd Test): This one also ended in 3 days.
  • Pakistan vs England (2nd Test): This test also ended in 3 days
  • Pakistan vs England (3rd Test): Another 3-day game
Do these short games make Test cricket better, or are they just too rushed? Are we losing those amazing games that go all the way to the fifth day and end in a tie?

What do you think? Should Test matches be shorter or stay at five days? Let's talk about it
 
Last edited:
BouncerGuy said:
There has been a lot of talk about whether Test matches should be shortened to four days instead of five. People who support this idea say modern cricket is faster, with most matches ending in four days anyway.

They believe the fifth day is not needed. But others think the fifth day is very important and makes Test cricket special, giving teams more time for big comebacks and strategies.

We've had some really quick Test matches in 2023-2024 already:
  • South Africa vs India: This one was over super fast, in just over two days!
  • Australia vs West Indies: Australia won easily in three days.
  • England vs. Ireland: Ireland got hammered and lost in three days.
  • New Zealand vs South Africa (2nd Test): New Zealand won on day four.
  • West Indies vs England (3rd Test): West Indies won on day four, too.
  • India vs Bangladesh (1st Test): India thrashed Bangladesh in 4 days.
  • India vs New Zealand (1st Test): Kiwis dominated India at home and won in 3 days.
  • India vs New Zealand (2nd Test): Another thrashing for India at the hands of Kiwis in 3 days.
  • India vs New Zealand 3rd Test: This one also ended in 3 days.
Do these short games make Test cricket better, or are they just too rushed? Are we losing those amazing games that go all the way to the fifth day and end in a tie?

What do you think? Should Test matches be shorter or stay at five days? Let's talk about it
Click to expand...
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo
 
5 test is essential ,no need to change the Traditional test cricket rules .

This pink ball test should be scrapped .
 
On the contrary there have been a few test matches that suffered 2-3 days lost due to rain or wet outfield but we ended up seeing a result and a great test match because there were 5 days allocated.

I think the first WTC final between Bharat and NZ was almost washed out but we made full use of the 5 days to lose to Kiwis in a royal fashion.
 
I think making test match day 50-70 minutes shorter but allowing 5 days to play is better choice
 
Why you want to turn this into County?

There are so many games where just at the end of 4th day things set up for a cracking 5th day. It will be of great disservice to rob people of that final and 5th day contest.
 
Five days is fine.

It ensures that any game that needs a fifth day has the chance of having a winner.

The main issue they must resolve is the over rate because teams are way too lazy with their approach. The points penalty is clearly not doing enough to get them to hurry up. There has to be an active solution, which will ensure things move along at a brisk pace.
 
I think five days are fine because not every pitch is rank turner or as much lovely that could produce result in 4 days
 
If test cricket will continue to be subsided by T20 then you can make it 5.

If it wants to be a stand alone financially viable product one of the steps should be to turn it to 4 days.
 
Cricket has become so fast so there’s no harm in making Test cricket four days instead of five after all not many people are willing to stay glued to their televisions or at the grounds for so many days.
 
Test Cricket is the best thing about Cricket, closely followed by the IPL. Please leave it the way it is.
 
If anything, make them timeless to encourage slow play and innings building.
 
Five days come in handy if you have a day spoiled due to anything like rain etc.

Games are finishing in four days anyways.
 
atreus said:
If anything, make them timeless to encourage slow play and innings building.
Click to expand...

This is a good idea in theory but not practical.

There is so much cricket (ODI, T20, franchise leagues, The Hundred etc.).

I would love to see timeless Tests, however.
 
BouncerGuy said:
There has been a lot of talk about whether Test matches should be shortened to four days instead of five. People who support this idea say modern cricket is faster, with most matches ending in four days anyway.

They believe the fifth day is not needed. But others think the fifth day is very important and makes Test cricket special, giving teams more time for big comebacks and strategies.

We've had some really quick Test matches in 2023-2024 already:
  • South Africa vs India: This one was over super fast, in just over two days!
  • Australia vs West Indies: Australia won easily in three days.
  • England vs. Ireland: Ireland got hammered and lost in three days.
  • New Zealand vs South Africa (2nd Test): New Zealand won on day four.
  • West Indies vs England (3rd Test): West Indies won on day four, too.
  • India vs Bangladesh (1st Test): India thrashed Bangladesh in 4 days.
  • India vs New Zealand (1st Test): Kiwis dominated India at home and won in 3 days.
  • India vs New Zealand (2nd Test): Another thrashing for India at the hands of Kiwis in 3 days.
  • India vs New Zealand (3rd Test): This one also ended in 3 days.
  • Pakistan vs England (2nd Test): This test also ended in 3 days
  • Pakistan vs England (3rd Test): Another 3-day game
Do these short games make Test cricket better, or are they just too rushed? Are we losing those amazing games that go all the way to the fifth day and end in a tie?

What do you think? Should Test matches be shorter or stay at five days? Let's talk about it
Click to expand...
I will do a statistical analysis on the length of the test matches but before that .... can you please explain what is the real benefit of reducing the number of days from 5 to 4? I mean, if the test is scheduled for 5 days and ends in 4... that's fine. But if the test is schedule for 5 days and ends in 3 or 4 days, who cares? All the player and staff goes home one day early.
 
Yes, there is an increase in number of test finishing early but that should not be the only excuse to start scheduling 4-day tests. I mean, what is 5-day test hurts? What's the harm in 5-day tests?

A total of 191 tests have been played this decade.
A total of only 27 tests (14.13%) ended in a draw.

Below is the list of 41 tests that went beyond 360 overs (90 overs a day x 4 day = 360 overs)....assuming there were no rain delays. So if these tests were scheduled for only 4 days, these tests would have ended in a draw.
That would increased the number of draws to 68 (35.60%).
Last time had so many (35%) draws was in 4 decades ago... in 1990s.


1734031269025.png
 
Test and ODI should be scrapped and 30 over matches should become the standard. One format. Short enough to not sit through an entire day or days for a result. Long enough for strategy.

They should trial T30s asap. Organise a quad tournament between OZ, England, India and Pakistan in Australia.
 
Yes go to 4 days

The huge majority of test matches are finishing in day 4, and we often see test matches ending in day 4 session 1 or day 3.
 
Dr_Bassim said:
Tests should be 7 days at least.

To give chance for every game to finish.

1 week is true test of patience.
Click to expand...

I am okay with that but it is unlikely to happen since Test is not profitable for most cricket boards.

I personally would love to see timeless Tests.
 
A good finish between Australia and India in the 4th Test, with the result coming on Day 5, in which Australia wins. It seems we are still getting good results on Day 5.
 
FearlessRoar said:
A good finish between Australia and India in the 4th Test, with the result coming on Day 5, in which Australia wins. It seems we are still getting good results on Day 5.
Click to expand...
True, but I’d do things differently.

The Centurion Test was a better spectacle than the MCG one because the grass was 10 mm instead of 6 mm, so innings went only around 50-70 overs.

I’d play Tests as Day-Night affairs or with a Dukes ball. But with home boards welcome to make spinning tracks if they want.

And I’d run Tests Friday to Monday (or Thursdays to Sundays in England), from 2 pm to 10 pm.
 
I'm glad this stupid debate has died down in recent years. If you want to play 4-day tests against the minnows (Zimbabwe, Ireland, Afghanistan), that's fine. But please don't go any further than that and ruin this format just to save some cash.
 
Junaids said:
True, but I’d do things differently.

The Centurion Test was a better spectacle than the MCG one because the grass was 10 mm instead of 6 mm, so innings went only around 50-70 overs.

I’d play Tests as Day-Night affairs or with a Dukes ball. But with home boards welcome to make spinning tracks if they want.

And I’d run Tests Friday to Monday (or Thursdays to Sundays in England), from 2 pm to 10 pm.
Click to expand...
No. Centurion Test match was not match for the MCG match . There was uneven bounce on Day 1 at Centurion.
 
The key is not to reduce the number of days. It's to reduce the volume of Test cricket being played.

Everybody focussed on the MCG Test should just look at the AFG-ZIM scorecard

Two nations who have 0 future in the first and who barely make any money even from white ball playing this format. Completely pointless.
 
13 Tests ended in three days or fewer in 2024, and 40 in four - only three ended in a draw 😯

1735926913414.jpg
 
Former England captain Michael Vaughan, while speaking on a radio show, said he won’t change his stance on Test matches being played over four days:

"I won’t change my tune. We’ve got to move with the times. Five-day Test match cricket, love it. Loved the MCG (Test). It would just happen a little bit quicker and the dramatic fifth day would become the dramatic fourth day."

"The great game, which is Test match cricket to survive, not just for our time but going beyond 50, 60, 70, 80 years, I do think it’s now a four-day product so I’m not changing my tune.”

"I don’t think it was a great pitch. I looked at the batters batting and I felt sorry for them because it was just doing too much."

"In terms of the amount of overs that were bowled in the series, it’s the third lowest in a five match series in the history of a five match series. We’re looking at a series that we’ve just had where the game is moving on quicker."

"If we go back to flat pitches and teams are getting 500 (runs), of course you need five days of cricket. But if you’re going to play on pitches like this and the ball is going to continue to do just a little bit more then it has done in the past, then we’re not going to need five days that’s for sure."

"I think if you speak to any supporter over the last three days and you say to them ‘are you disappointed it finished so quickly’, every single fan that went through the gates (and it was a sell out for three days), they were all royally entertained. It was an amazing Test match. As an entertaining product (and that’s what test cricket has to be), it was brilliant. It was absolutely fantastic."
 
Another test finished in 3 days... Pakistan vs west indies 1st test is nearing a finish.

Can we think about this again???
 
Noman Ali addressing the press conference after Day 1 of the first Test against the West Indies:

"In the past, when we used to have full five-day matches, people criticized that there were no results."

"Now, results are coming within two or three days, so I think it's better this way."
 
The logical next step for the test cricket evolution is to make them 4 days & play a minimum of 105 overs a day. We rarely play the full 450 overs in a match as of now, 105 overs a day for 4 days makes 420 overs possible in the match which is pretty close to what we are having right now. Shave ten minutes of the lunch break, start the morning session at 9, make 2.5 hour long sessions & we are good to go.

The playing time getting pulled back to 9 am will also ensure that morning conditions will revive fast bowling a bit. For people saying don't tinker with the test format as it's historic etc., let it be known that test cricket was once a six day affair, & the all the way up to 90s there was a rest day between test matches so reduction in playing days has already happened before.

If ICC doesn't do it, Pak should do it themselves. The gate receipts are non-existent, people barely follow it on TV, & general public shows no interest in the format. We aren't playing India, Australia will probably not invite us again for a long time, & South Africa & Pak are already playing only 2 test matches a series. I like test cricket but for it to survive this is a mandatory step. We have already started making result oriented pitches so half the job is done.

Make test tours shorter & save money on accommodation as well as playing meaningful cricket.
 
As per the reports:

The top brass of the BCCI and ECB have discussed the possibility of four-day Tests to allow cricket boards to schedule three-Test series around franchise leagues. However, four-day Tests will not be applicable for marquee series such as the Ashes or matches between tier-one nations.
 
No… should not tinker with the traditions of the game

However, I believe that the world test championship cycle should be extended to 3 or 4 years (instead of 2) ….. ideally every 4 years just like 50-over World Cup

With each country required to play 4 or 5 series both home and away.

This way there will be less pressure on the respective boards or countries to cram x number of test series in such a short space of time.

With already such a crammed international schedule, I would scrap the Chsmpions Trophy altogether. This or the next one should be the last one…

No need for champions trophy when you already have the 50-over World Cup..
 
AZulfi said:
No… should not tinker with the traditions of the game

However, I believe that the world test championship cycle should be extended to 3 or 4 years (instead of 2) ….. ideally every 4 years just like 50-over World Cup

With each country required to play 4 or 5 series both home and away.

This way there will be less pressure on the respective boards or countries to cram x number of test series in such a short space of time.

With already such a crammed international schedule, I would scrap the Chsmpions Trophy altogether. This or the next one should be the last one…

No need for champions trophy when you already have the 50-over World Cup..
Click to expand...

Agree.

If they make it 4 years, they can get in more games and make it more competitive.

WTC is supposed to be the Test World Cup. So, making it 4 years makes more sense.
 
Yes. This idea of five day Tests being sacrosanct doesn't make sense. We used to have timeless Tests, six day Tests and Tests with rest days.

Very few matches are going to a fifth day. A fifth day is useful when there's weather stoppages but when you weigh it up against the costs of staging five days of Test cricket and the time four day Tests would save in the calendar - I'd be in favour.

However they should try to ensure the Tests run during the weekend - ideally Thu to Sun.
 
yeah... nobody will bother watching this format all 5 days.. just make pitches lively which can drive u result within 4 days.
 
JUst get rid of teams that have no scope in Tests. Teams that don't want to show improvement in Tests. You will have enough time and window. India/Australia/England make the call. Others don't have any voice. They are not going to reduce the number of days unless all 3 agree. Srilanka/Bangladesh/West Indies will move to tier 2. Like good old days just 5 or 6 teams playing each other.
 
Yes, when Pakistan is playing in home condition . When Pakistan is playing in SENA , it should be a 3 days test, give them a chance to draw the test, in 3 days.
 
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