England ‘sensitive to effects’ of four-day Tests

BRISTOL, England: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) insisted on Sunday it had “no firm position” on playing four-day Tests, adding they were “sensitive to the potential effects of any change to the traditional format”.

It had been reported that English cricket chiefs were in favour of reducing Tests from their current five days to four to fit in with modern trends such as Twenty20 which have made shorter-form cricket ever more popular.

Cricket South Africa have announced plans to stage a four-day Test against Zimbabwe at Port Elizabeth starting on December 26, although the move is still subject to International Cricket Council approval.

There is a view that moving to four days would, as is the case with professional golf tournaments, ensure two good ‘corporate’ days on Thursday and Friday while increasing the chances of matches finishing in prime television viewing time at the weekend.

Advocates also argue that a move to four-day Tests would give players more time to rest between matches in what are increasingly crowded fixture schedules.Supporters of four-day Tests have said teams would bowl more overs in a day to compensate for the loss of a fifth day.

But critics point to how many Test sides struggle to bowl the scheduled 90 overs in a current standard day’s Test play as evidence of how a move to four days could reduce the amount of playing time.

England staged their inaugural day/night Test against West Indies at Edgbaston last month — a match that ended inside three days after the tourists lost 19 wickets in a day.“ECB has no firm position on the staging of four-day Test matches,” said a spokesman for the national governing body on Sunday.

“We can see benefits that more compact scheduling might deliver but are sensitive to the potential effects of any change to the traditional format.”