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With matches struggling to last the distance, former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar feels it’s time the longest format is officially trimmed by a day. Such a move, he feels, will also make financial sense for the economically weaker ICC full members…
MUMBAI: The 0-3 drubbing India received at the hands of New Zealand at home not only exposed their frailties against spin bowling but also continued an interesting trend. Both the second and third Tests, in Pune and Mumbai respectively, were played on turning pitches and finished inside three days. Even the first Test in Bengaluru technically was over in four days, as Day One was a complete washout.
With home teams gunning for wins that will land them precious points for a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Tests are struggling to last the duration. Mostly these Tests are played either on spin-friendly pitches in the subcontinent or fast and bouncy wickets in SENA countries. Of 25 Tests played in India in the last five years, 12 finished inside three days, seven within four days, and one match – the third (pink ball) Test between India and England in Ahmedabad – was over in just two days.
Most home Tests in this period were played on rank turners as India scrambled for WTC points. The advent of the Decision Review System (DRS) has meant that marginal decisions also go in favour of bowlers. The technique and temperament of the batters too has been found wanting in the post-T20 era, something that head coach Gautam Gambhir alluded to recently.
Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar, for one, feels it’s time Tests are officially reduced to four-day affairs instead of five. “Tests should be reduced to four-day games because most of the matches are getting over in under four days. Also, most of the affiliated boards of the International Cricket Council (ICC), apart from India, Australia, and England, are not in good financial condition, so four-day Tests could save them some expenses. It is financially draining and too expensive for a team like West Indies to travel for Test matches to the rest of the world.
“Besides, it’s unfair to sell tickets for five days when the matches are getting over in three days,” Vengsarkar told TOI following India’s 0-3 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand. India lost the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium by 25 runs in two-and-a-half days. Former England captain Michael Vaughan and the late Australian leg spin great Shane Warne had, in the past, also batted for four-day Tests.
Around four years back, the ICC had seriously mulled the idea of four-day Tests but in Jan 2020 the MCC, custodians of the laws of cricket, stated that Tests will continue to be five-day affairs. The MCC, however, did add that it saw “some benefits” of the ICC’s proposal.
“Cricket committee and MCC world cricket committee have discussed the issue and although they can see some benefits that four-day Test cricket could bring, both committees believe that Test cricket should continue to be played over five days,” the MCC had said in a statement back then.
There have been a few four-day Tests in recent years, including the England versus Ireland game at Lord’s in June 2023 and a South Africa-Zimbabwe Test. Both were sanctioned by the ICC. In India, in the Ranji Trophy, matches in the league stage are played over four days.
‘Give Tests to metros, white-ball games to the rest’
Another interesting aspect of the Mumbai Test, which concluded on Sunday afternoon, was the number of spectators who flocked to watch the match each day – at least 18,000. In fact, there was an enthusiastic crowd of around 20,000 on Day Three. Vengsarkar asserted that the BCCI must now schedule Tests only in the bigger cities and the metros while awarding white-ball matches – ODIs and T20Is – to smaller centres.
“The support the Mumbaikars provided to Test cricket was overwhelming. As compared to the other venues during this series, they turned up in huge numbers even for a dead rubber. I guess the time has come to stage cricket only at Test centres like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai. The One-Dayers and T20Is can be staged at the rest of the centres,” the 116-Test veteran rounded off.
Since the 2016-17 home season, the BCCI has been awarding Tests to smaller centres like Rajkot, Vizag, and Pune.
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