Four-day Tests resistance continues as FICA demand "compelling reasons for change"

The international players union are broadly against the longest form being reduced but are open to discussion on the subject

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Cricket's decision-makers must listen to the opinions of players before ruling on whether to reduce Test matches from five days to four.

That is the view of FICA, the international players' union, who are broadly against the idea which is due to be discussed by the ICC later this month.

A reduction would free up more days in the cricketing calendar and maximise the investment made by broadcasters around the world.

Cricket Australia and the ECB have both lent their support to the idea which is due to be considered by the ICC's cricket committee ahead of the next cycle of the World Test Championship.

But India captain Virat Kohli and England allrounder Ben Stokes have spoken of his distains for the idea, and the FICA wants the opinions of their professionals taken into account.

"We continue to follow this issue closely and understand that discussions are taking place at various levels on this," said executive chairman Tony Irish.

"From our discussions with players around the world, and our global survey data, it is clear that there is currently a lot of negative sentiment, within the global collective of players, towards such a significant change to the game’s most traditional format. 

"Given the obvious cricketing implications, if the ICC and/or boards do want to make a broader case for four-day Test cricket, we would need to clearly understand what both the economic and scheduling benefits would be, so we can discuss that with players and gauge genuine collective feedback. 

"It is particularly important for us, and the players, to understand how any additional calendar space in the playing schedule would be used. Making a fundamental change simply in order to provide calendar space to fill with additional or meaningless cricket is clearly not something we can support. Cricket’s global structure desperately needs clarity, rather than further confusion.

"Until such a time as we and the players are provided with the full picture and compelling reasons for change, we remain supportive of five-day Test cricket, and would expect significant player resistance if a shift to that is imposed on players by the ICC and/or boards. 

"Test cricket is a cherished format of the game and it needs player support and buy in to survive. We urge those making decisions to understand that."

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