From 2023 We May See Four-Day Test Matches But How Good Will It Be For The Traditional Format Of The Game?

When the last day of a Test ends, it is like the end of something big. Now it may be shortened even further. The ICC is considering making Tests last just 4 days instead of 5 and they propose to do this from 2023 onwards. But how good will the move be in the context of the game?

There are two schools of thought. One side are opposing the move like top Aussie cricketers and the coach. They believe one day less would take away the flow of the game and make it more similar to limited-overs fixtures.

The other end of the debate highlights the demand for more variety where the cricket is instant. The ones in favour have said that those who oppose the move are 'traditionalists' or 'purists'.

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Both terms have acquired pessimistic overtones in recent times, since many administrators and broadcasters agree that a new, revitalized World Test Championship, comprising of four-day Tests, would freshen things up.

It is a fact that attentions spans have shortened. It is also a fact that most Tests are ending inside four days or earlier, apart from some of the marquee contests in the 'creamy layer', between the top three or four nations, which require the extra day to settle the debate.

This trend (see graphic) of matches finishing earlier than anticipated is a problem because it is expensive to stage a Test and the financial returns aren't commensurate. Organizers basically care about the footfalls on the first twothree days and the entire financial structure balances itself out with eyeballs in shorter formats. Also, the five-day format is not set in stone. Tests have been three-day, four-day or 'timeless' affairs in the distant past, creating its own caste system in which the maximum allowed days were reserved for contests between 'deserving' stronger teams or for the deciding game of a series.

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The extra space in the calendar from such a move, the ICC argues, is intended to free up space for more manoeuvering in the schedule. It is not meant to give more rest to the players, but may end up benefitting Tests too, since a four-day Test can start on a Thursday and end on a Sunday to boost ticket sales and live TV viewership. So goes the theory, to which both the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) seem to have given a preliminary nod.

However, these plans, and the ensuing debates, have highlighted a paradox at the heart of modern Test cricket. The format feels unwanted but it basically still defines the sport. It is a niche brand which celebrates the sport's fullest possibilities. Tests are, till today, cricket's heartbeat, in spite of a decades-old international white-ball circuit.

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Just ask the players. The ebb and flow of a Test match, on a steadily wearing pitch, acquires a life of its own, charming participants into engaging in a duel of mental and physical skill, endurance and strategy which is unique to sport. The so-called 'dull' moments are merely part of the larger tapestry. At its best, Test cricket has no peer.

This is important not because everyone has to appreciate Test cricket, but because the format is now stranded at the crossroads, between commercial considerations and the credibility of history. It is vulnerable.

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Chopping a day off now would expose it to further tinkering if things don't work out, like making every four-day Test essentially a pink-ball game with a twilight session, since the proposed 98 overs a day will not be feasible in the subcontinent.

Maybe stakeholders should contemplate whether they are considering a change for the right reasons. A closer look will reveal that more Tests are finishing inside four days because there are more results and less draws. Is there an opportunity there? Also, if Tests are too long for millennials, would shaving just a day off help? Alternately, if Tests were free to air, would the ICC want four days of it or all five?