Former Sri Lanka Captain Mahela Jayawardene Opposes Four-Day Tests
Published - 08 Jan 2020, 03:50 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:03 AM
Recently, England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket South Africa backed ICC’s proposal for four-day World Test Championship matches for the 2023-2031 cycle. A four-day Test match was last played in July 2019 between England and Ireland. South Africa and Zimbabwe also played the four-day Test match once in 2017.
Four-day games were given green light by the International Cricket Council in 2017 but as far as the elite level is concerned, the four-day format has been limited to matches between the major powers and less established nations. The ICC cricket committee will discuss reducing the five-day format to four days in an upcoming meeting.
ICC and member boards are mulling over freeing up a hectic international schedule which will also reduce player workload. If things go well, then ICC administrators would make use of the remaining time for shorter formats. ICC’s proposal to change the current Test format has not gone down well with Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene as they all opposed the idea.
I’m personally against any change in Test format: Mahela Jayawardene
Meanwhile, former Sri Lanka captain and current ICC Cricket Committee member Mahela Jayawardene, on Wednesday said that he is against International Cricket Council (ICC) proposal to make four-day Tests compulsory. Jayawardene said that it should remain a five-day Test affair despite the apex body he is a part of. He made it very clear that he is personally against any change in the Test format.
“We will discuss it in the meeting (in March, and I don’t know what will happen after that but my personal opinion is that it should remain five days. I would not want any change,” he told PTI.
It should be noted that Andrew Strauss, Rahul Dravid and Shaun Pollock are also on the cricket committee. Former India skipper and former coach Anil Kumble, who chairs the cricket committee of the sport’s governing body said that ICC’s proposal will be discussed in the next round of the ICC meetings, which is to held in Dubai from March 27-31.
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