After mulling for ages, English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have finally set the ball rolling. In a bid to bring back fans and excitement to the stadiums, the ECB are set to introduce four-day Tests at home starting as early as 2020. The change will mostly likely take place after the scheduled 2019 Ashes.
According to telegraph.co.uk, an ECB source said that they will bring up the topic of four-day Tests in the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in October. Agenda for the meeting is to discuss a revamp of the game and introduce a Test championship in 2020.
ECB is likely to face opposition from the purists, who already feel that the influx of T20 cricket is hammering the sport. With a day short, ECB — along with many other boards — can focus on T20 leagues and reduce player fatigue. The last Test match to feature a four-day Test was between New Zealand and Pakistan in 1973.
It was only last week that Cricket South Africa announced its plan to play a four-day Test against Zimbabwe come Boxing Day.
Colin Graves, the chairman of the ECB, had come out in support of four-day Tests last year.
“Every Test match would start on a Thursday, with Thursday and Friday being corporate days and then Saturday and Sunday the family days. From a cost point of view you’d lose that fifth day, which would save a lot of money from the ground’s point of view and the broadcasters… I would look at that,” he concluded.
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