Do not take away Test cricket’s soul!
Presently, the five-day format represents, perhaps, the toughest combination of a players’ physical and mental attributes and his skill-set.
As the match enters the fifth day, the teams face their most severe examination of mind and body apart from the natural deterioration of the pitch. This brings under the scanner a batsman’s footwork, balance, and the bowlers’ ability to exploit the rough and the cracks that develop over five days.
You want to take all that away just to suit commercial interests, seeking to squeeze in more lucrative ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals?
Not everything in the game is about money. Every game has a spirit and a soul and a Test is the purest form of cricket.
True, quite a few Tests end under four days in these times when shorter forms of the game have made inroads into the technique and mind-set required for the longer formats.
However, there have been Test classics that have thrown up explosive fifth-day finishes. There can be no greater example than the titanic India-Australia clash at the Eden Gardens in 2001.
The ICC, that could use the four-day Tests as part of its FTP from 2023 to 2031, plans to have 98 overs a day instead of the present 90.
Still with fewer overs and days, a draw becomes an increasing possibility. If the first two innings do not conclude by lunch on day three, a draw is the likely result, unlike in a five-day Test where there is more time and space to force the issue, not to forget the pitch’s wear and tear.
The spinners will take a hit.
For and against
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar held a slightly different view. He told The Hindu , “I prefer five-day Tests but I am not vehemently against four-dayers. You see around 60 per cent of Tests these days are ending under four days in any case because of the influence of Twenty20 cricket. And the spinners will still have the moisture to exploit and there will be some help for them on days three and four.”
Meanwhile, legends such as Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting are strongly opposed to the idea. So is off-spinning great Nathan Lyon.
There is nothing wrong with Tests in its present form. Do not tamper with it.
