Multiple Day/Night Test per Series

Two pink-ball Tests in a series 'a bit too much’.

Cricinfo.

Saturday, 7 December 2019.

PTG 2965-14709.

Will India play two day-night Tests when they tour Australia next year? Cricket Australia (CA) would like them to, but Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has indicated that two pink-ball Tests in a four-Test series might be "a bit too much”.  Ganguly was one of the major driving forces behind India playing their maiden day-night Test last month and has been a vocal advocate for day-night games to popularise Test cricket and bring more spectators to grounds, but he is less keen on the idea of India playing two pink-ball Tests on their 2020-21 tour of Australia.

"Whether India go to play two day-night Tests in Australia is not assured”, said Ganguly. "Two out of four would be a bit too much with the pink ball. We will assess it. I read it in the newspapers this morning. I haven't heard anything from the Australian cricket board. We will deal with it as it comes”.  A CA delegation led by its chairman Earl Eddings is set to meet Ganguly on the sidelines of Australia's limited-overs tour of India in January, and discuss, among other things, the possibility of India playing two day-night Tests in Australia in 2020-21.

Negotiations have not yet begun, but "we'll mention that when we're over there in January talking during the one-day series”, said Eddings.  "As you build that trust and build that relationship you have that chat.  Pleasingly, they've played their first day-night Test and won easily. Now they've got through that it might give them the right build-up to it over here. I've got no doubt they'll consider playing one and maybe even more day-night Test matches. But that's down the track to when we catch up with them in January”.

Time has come to shorten Test matches to four days.

Mark Taylor.

Nine Newspapers.

Friday, 29 November 2019.

PTG 2954-14659.

Cricket took a major step forward in keeping its traditional format relevant with the introduction of day-night Tests. The next move should be a reduction in length from five days to four. It is the right length for Test matches in this era.

As much as I am a traditionalist, it's time world cricket authorities gave serious thought to four-day Tests. Thursday to Sunday is the perfect timeframe to stage red- and pink-ball games. Using the current Australia-Pakistan series as an example, this would have allowed three days off between games and the day-night Test to finish on a Sunday instead of a school day when kids are less likely to be watching at home or at the ground.

With the faster scoring rates in modern cricket, scoring 300 in a day is far more common than 30 years ago so you do not need as much time for a result.  When the International Cricket Council decided in 2017 to trial four-day Tests (PTG 2275-11514, 14 October 2017), they implemented 98-over days. In other words, four-day games would be 58 overs shorter - the equivalent of about two sessions - than the traditional Test. I believe a minimum of 100 overs a day, or a 400-over game, would make for the ideal length.

The standard day would be increased from six hours to six and a half hours, which is how long sides are playing for today, given the slow over-rates.  Teams and administrators would need to make changes to quicken up the play. Whether it be the seemingly endless flow of drinks, running equipment out to batsmen or the time taken with the decision review system – there is far too much time wasted.

The decision review process needs changing as it is taking far too long for decisions to be reached. Teams have seemingly forgotten what it was brought in to the game for – to eradicate the howler instead of being used for speculative 50-50s. I have always maintained that players should play the game and umpires should officiate it. A fresh approach along this line could assist the pace of play.