England and Wales Cricket Board proposes four-day Tests, 40-over World Cup

The English proposes radical changes for Test and ODI cricket.

The on-going discussions between chairman of the English counties and England Cricket Board (ECB) could mean that Test cricket could be reduced to four days, and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 curtailed to 40 overs a side, if it materialises and are ultimately adopted by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Any reduction in five-day cricket would mean the abandonment of a tradition that has been at the heart of the international game for more than 30 years. Tests have routinely been played over five days since 1979, an exception being when India met West Indies over six days in Kanpur. And the last time a Test was scheduled for only four days was back in 1973 between New Zealand and Pakistan.

According to a report on ESPNcricnfo, the document provides details of radical suggestions for change in the domestic and international game. They form part of a wide-ranging review into the future of English cricket, both domestically and internationally, in which no tenet of the game is immune from the potential change. These suggestions remain only that, and are as yet restricted only to England.

It is the sections on Test and One-Day International (ODI) cricket that will provoke the most worldwide interest, as county chairmen debate options ahead of an ECB strategy document due to be published in October. News that a 50-over World Cup is being openly questioned in England might be seen as untimely, taking place as it does while the current tournament is being held over 50 overs in Australia and New Zealand.

The document includes a section suggesting the new president of the ECB Giles Clarke can use his influence at the ICC to bring change. Clarke remains the ECB’s representative at the ICC and is believed to retain ambitions of one day chairing the organisation.

“Influence ICC – ECB President changing the World Cup format to a 40-over competition,” the document proposes.