Players oppose reducing Test format to four days

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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 14: Chris Woakes of England celebrates taking the wicket of Rahat Ali of Pakistan during day one of the 1st Investec Test match between England and Pakistan at Lords Cricket Ground on July 14, 2016 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images)

Current test players have disapproved the idea of pepping up Test cricket by reducing matches from five days to four after ECB chairman Colin Graves restated his support for the move earlier this summer.

ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said the game’s administrators are keen to shorten the format but admitted that players are against shortening the format.

‘The cricketers are pretty much against moving to four-day Tests.The administrators like it because it makes scheduling easier. You can stage a Test like a golf tournament – starting on Thursday and finishing on Sunday.

Test cricketers are opposed to the idea of the ultimate form of the game being contested over four days

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‘You wouldn’t have to worry about the Monday, with everyone going to work and no one watching the game. But people still like the idea of a Test match over five days.’

The popularity of the Test format is been challenged by the increasing presence of the entertaining T20 format. T20 leagues around the world have become a craze among the newer generation of cricket lovers.

Players might oppose the idea of spicing up the format but commentators and former cricketers have shown their support. They feel that the game should move ahead with time and necessary modification must be done to help Test format remain the jewel in the crown.

Apart from the ECB chairman, former Australian captains like Mark Taylor and Greg Chappell have already urged consideration of four-day games- a move also backed by commentator and leg-spin legend Shane Warne.

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Warne said last year on Melbourne radio station SEN: “I reckon it’s time for four-day Test cricket. I would make it 100 overs a day (from the current 90 over five days, meaning a future total of up to 400 overs in a match instead of the status quo of 450 – Sport24).

“I’d have two half-hour breaks rather than a 40-minute lunch and 20-minute tea, and I’d extend (time) by about half an hour to get those extra overs in. I think that’s going to be more appealing for people.”

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