Joe Root backs four-day Test matches and changes to County Championship regulations

England's captain made the comments in a long-form podcast interview ahead of the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town

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Joe Root has become the latest cricketing figure to express support for four-day Test matches during a wide-ranging and candid podcast interview.

Speaking to Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain in Cape Town on the eve of facing South Africa in the second Test at Newlands, the England captain also reflected on his personal form with the bat during the highs and lows of 2019 and revealed what changes he would be keen to see at the County Championship.

The comments come just days after Cricket Australia's chief executive insisted that shortening matches was something to "seriously consider" to ease congestion in the global calendar, while the ICC is said to be considering implementing four-day fixtures as part of the World Test Championship from 2023 onwards.

"I think there's a place for it in the game. I do. We've obviously played one against Ireland – not sure that pitch would have been fit for a three-day game, but I think it is worth trialling," he told the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.

"I love playing five days of cricket. Personally, I think it's the best format. An extra day really does make the best teams in the game 99 per cent of the time.

"It might not always make sense for England to play it, especially if it's against Australia or some of the bigger sides, but it might draw a bit more interest to some of the sides that struggle to get people in the ground. If you don't try it, you don't know."

^{Four-day Tests have been mooted as a possible way to improve Test crowds}

Root, who turned 29 earlier this week, paused to reflect on a hectic home summer that saw England lift the World Cup trophy in July but get dismissed inside a session by Ireland less than a fortnight later, before Australia went on to retain the Ashes in England for the first time since 2001 despite the hosts levelling the series with a win at The Oval in September.

Under Root's leadership, England's red-ball side suffered heavy defeats in six of their 12 Tests in 2019, and the captain himself struggled – his average of 37.00 from 23 innings was his lowest return since 2013, his first full year around the international setup.

While he insisted that his batting was not being hampered by the burdens associated with captaincy, Root did acknowledge struggling in the role during the summer after the emotional rollercoaster of England's World Cup campaign, and credited a recent change in mindset for the recent uptick in form that saw him register 226 during the drawn Test in Hamilton in November.

He also paid tribute to peers Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson – the three active batsmen to have finished the 2010s averaging above 50 from over 20 Tests – identifying elements of their games that he is looking to develop within himself.

"I think about the game better when I'm playing number four – just that extra little bit of time just to reset myself and separate the two gives a bit more clarity on what I want to go and do, whether that is bat or take the team onto the field," Root said.

"This summer's been quite mentally draining, trying to captain a side off the back of a World Cup win which was just remarkable. The way that we won the final emotionally took more out of me than I thought – when you're playing and you haven't got time to think about it, you don't really. That may have flowed slightly into some of my decision making as a batter.

"I'm never going to have a cover drive like Steve Smith, but I'd love to have this mentality of how he sees the game in different pockets of play, like how he nullified Broady for a very tricky period of time at Old Trafford, and how he looked to change his game against Jofra having taken that blow [at Lord's]. 

"He manages his game and the situation very well, and I think that's why he's so successful, whereas Virat has just got a range of shots which allows him to play so freely off so many different deliveries and can hit the same ball in two completely different places. Kane's technique is is very, very sured-up and he plays the ball extremely late.

"Sometimes in the past, I've skewed [my mindset] and just thought as a captain, but since the end of summer, I've tried to have a real shift. As a batter, how can I win this game for England? And then as a captain, how can I win this game for England? That's going to be my biggest challenge. 

"When there is doubt there, [the challenge is] don't take that into your batting, and I think there have been occasions where that has been the case."

^{Root admitted struggling with the Test captaincy in the aftermath of England's World Cup win}

Elsewhere in the interview, Root expressed confidence that Chris Silverwood was indeed the right choice to take over from Trevor Bayliss when the Australian left his position after the summer's drawn Ashes series.

Silverwood had previously worked as bowling coach under Bayliss, however his tenure with the Test side has got off to a rocky and winless start with a 1-0 series defeat in New Zealand followed by defeat in the opening Test in Centurion last week

During 2019 the team was bowled out for under 100 by Australia, Ireland and the West Indies, and last week's loss to South Africa saw England twice lose their last seven wickets inside 21 overs.

When asked whether the ECB's decision to schedule a significant portion of the County Championship season in the fringe months of April and September, Root instead revealed a raft of ideas for the competition that he has suggested to England's managing director of men's cricket Ashley Giles.

He commented: "[Scheduling] is one way to look at it, but are there other things that you could change first to see if they can make a big difference?

"Having a heavy roller available the whole time; using a Kookaburra ball for the first half of the season; making a draw more of an incentive in terms of points; can you double the batting points, which is in turn probably going to lengthen the games out?

"I've passed this onto Gilo. I think it's really important that we look after the county game and know if you produce better wickets you produce more skillful players. You can't just wobble it around at 70 miles an hour, go at four an over and take a five-for and say you've had a good day. If you're going to bowl at that pace, you're going to have to be extremely skillful. Look at Vernon Philander – he's got a really specific set of skills which travel well. 

"What you want to do is produce the best wickets so that young bowlers have to find a way of doing something different to take those wickets, whether it is bowling with pace, being nail-on accurate, whether it is having someone that's like Neil Wagner – one you can just [ask to] bowl a nine-over spell and make things happen. 

"In turn, if it is a good wicket spinners come into the game because of the length of it as well, and the mentality of batters batting for long periods of time getting used to scoring 450 or 500, and getting used to scoring big hundreds for themselves as well – they're all transferable skills that have a massive knock on effect when you move up to Test cricket."