HUW TURBERVILL: A curious phenomenon seems to have developed, a by-product of living in a world divided by modern politics. If you don’t swing wholeheartedly behind every ‘progressive’ new idea, then you are a gammon. What a load of balls
Michael Vaughan must have felt very alone when, surrounded by aggressive Australians, he peeled off three superb centuries in the one-sided 2002/03 Ashes. And he must have a similar feeling now as he finds himself a champion of four-day Tests.
The ICC cricket committee is to consider the idea for the World Test Championship from 2023 when they meet at the end of March.
The reality is that T20 leagues are filling up calendar space, and the commercial consideration of playing a three-Test series in three weeks, Thursday to Sunday (98 overs per day) cubed, is a big factor.
Chief executives are also said to be bothered about paying stewards, caterers and so on even though a fifth day is uncertain (that must also be a nightmare for TV schedulers). And it is clear that fans are not as keen on the Test game in some parts of the world as they are in England. What would the atmosphere have been like at this winter’s England Tests, for instance, without the Barmy Army?
The stance of many in the game is to meekly accept that what the chief execs want, they get… nevertheless, an extraordinary list of players have leapt out to attack the idea amid a starburst of strokes. In the red corner, Vaughan can call on tentative assistance from Joe Root and Jos Buttler, and Mark Taylor and Shane Warne, who spoke a few years ago and didn’t seem to be arguing at that stage for blanket imposition of four-day Tests.
And then there are a lot of administrators, led by Cricket Australia and – “cautiously” – the ECB.
Virat Kohli has made his thoughts on four-day Tests known
But in the blue corner we have Justin Langer, Gautam Gambhir, Mahela Jayawardene, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Ben Stokes, Sir Ian Botham, Tim Paine, Ashley Giles, Vernon Philander and Glenn McGrath. Now that’s a tour party!
Vaughan must feel like Michael Caine at Rorke’s Drift in Zulu.
A curious phenomenon seems to have developed in the last day or two, a by-product of living in a world divided by the politics of Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn and so on.
If you don’t swing wholeheartedly behind every ‘progressive’, new idea (as Vaughan seems to do), then you are a gammon.
What a load of balls.
Supporters of four-day Tests do make the – fair – point however, that if the ICC’s big three dished out more dosh to the other countries, they might not have to shave a day off Tests.
And it is also worth pointing out that amid the fifth-day thrills in South Africa, people were queuing up to say it illustrated why the format should be sacrosanct. But actually several people in this office made the point that you could/would still have exciting finishes over four days. Perhaps even more so, as the race against time would be even more acute.
But what you would also have are more contrivances – like lob bowling and captains’ carve-ups – non-cricket devotees simply could not believe what they were seeing in the Middlesex v Yorkshire Championship finale in 2016; more declaration bowling, and fewer innings like Dominic Sibley’s carefully crafted 133 not out (and so on). Bring that latter point on, some might say… but certainly the concerted and unified protests of so many world greats must have made the prospect less likely.
A compromise might be to have a mixture of four and five-day Tests. England played a four-day Test against Ireland last summer after all, and the history of Test cricket has seen many shifts from three to four to five and even timeless Tests. It took New Zealand drawing all three three-day Tests in 1949 to make England give them a fourth day next time they visited, for instance.
It has been said such variation would be tricky for the World Test Championship however – the ICC presumably want uniformity for that – but I don’t really see why. Already it is a Championship that sees some sides take 60 points for a Test win, as opposed to 24 for one in the Ashes.
Not all administrators are for four-day Tests. Surrey’s chief executive Richard Gould tweeted his opposition... The Kia Oval is a financial powerhouse of Test cricket and the fifth day almost always does big business there though.
Andrew Strauss, Rahul Dravid, Jayawardene, Tim May and Shaun Pollock are also on the ICC cricket committee, which is chaired by Anil Kumble.
They will need tin helmets – and tin ears – if they go for four.
Mahela Jayawardene opposes the idea of mandatory four-day Test matches
FOR FOUR-DAY TESTS
Michael Vaughan told The Telegraph: “I have said for two years we need to try four-day Tests. I’m massively for it because in the 21st century the average overs that Tests have taken to get a result has been 318. There's obviously those great occasions where teams bat out for a draw or there’s been rain and you get some high tension on the last day.
“But the game has to be realistic that most matches now last for four days. If you actually dissect a five-day Test, the fifth day is costing the game a lot of money. Do people really believe five-day Test cricket will be around in 50 years’ time? No chance. But a four-day format, with lots of day-night matches and a league system? That could work and survive.”
An ECB spokesperson: “We're definite proponents of the four-day Test concept but cautiously so.” They said it may help "complex scheduling" and "player workloads", but added: "We understand it's an emotive topic for players, fans and others who have concerns about challenging the heritage of Test cricket.”
CA chief executive Kevin Roberts says the concept is an innovation worthy of consideration but "perhaps it is more likely than not in the mid-term future".
Jos Buttler told Test Match Special: “I think the administrators and broadcasters have got to look at the best way to preserve Test cricket. It’s the best form of the game, so how can we maintain that and keep moving the game on? If that’s the option, moving it to four days, that has to be looked at. I like that it’s five days, when you get a fantastic Test that finishes on day five with all three results possible there’s nothing else really like that in cricket. As with everything times change, things change, and the game has to evolve with that. Everyone has to be open to change if that’s what is needed.”
Mark Taylor (in 2016): “It’ll only add to the appeal of the game, make it a bit shorter and a bit faster. That’s what people of this generation want to see. You’ve got one less day to win, lose or draw a game, so it does force captains and players to be a little bit more aggressive in their thinking.”
Shane Warne (in 2015) “I reckon it’s time for four-day Test cricket. I would make it four-day Test cricket, 100 overs a day, I’d have two half-hour breaks rather than a 40-minute lunch break and a 20-minute tea break, [and] I’d extend it by about half an hour to get those 100 overs in. I think that’s going to be more appealing for people and it’s worth a try.”
NOT SURE
Joe Root told Sky Sports: “I think there's merit to four-day cricket. Whether that's across the board or can it be flexible – we've obviously played one against Ireland. I'm sure that pitch would've been fit for a three-day game. I do think it's worth trialling and it might not always make sense for England to play especially if it’s against Australia or some of the bigger sides but it might draw a bit more interest with some of the countries who struggle to get people in the ground." After Newlands, he added: "I like five-day Test cricket, I might get in trouble for that.”
Cricket South Africa. The Daily Mail reported that they would oppose mandatory four-day cricket at Test level. CSA subsequently released a statement confirming their support for four-day Tests, without touching on their views on the duration becoming compulsory for all nations in all series.
England needed five days to beat South Africa in Cape Town
AGAINST
Gautam Gambhir: “Four-day Tests are a ridiculous idea and should be dropped immediately. It will invite drawn games, will have no place for spinners and will take away the charm of playing on a wearing fifth-day pitch.”
Justin Langer: “I'm not a fan of that. I love to see five-day Tests, and would hate to see an Ashes or an Australia v India or Australia v South Africa series like that. I just want to see five-day Test cricket remain.”
Ricky Ponting: “I’m against it but I’d like to hear from the people who are pushing it what the major reason is. I know we’ve had a lot of four-day games the last couple of years but what I’ve noticed in the last decade is how many drawn Tests there have been. I just wonder if they had have been all four-day Tests through that period of time would we have had more drawn games?”
Mahela Jayawardene: “We will discuss it in the meeting, 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.”
Virat Kohli: “Four-day Tests? Look, I'm not a fan of [it]. I think the intent will not be right then because then you will speak of three-day Tests, where do you end? Then you speak of Test cricket disappearing. I don't endorse that at all.”
Sachin Tendulkar: “Spinners look forward to bowling with the scruffed ball, taking advantage on day five of the roughs created on the wickets. All that is part of Test cricket. Is it fair to take that advantage away from spinners? There is T20, there is one-dayers and then there are T10 and 100-ball cricket. Test is the purest form of cricket. It should not be tinkered with.”
Faf du Plessis: “I'm a fan of Test cricket going on for five days. The great draws of the game have gone to five days. I understand that a lot of money is being burned on the fifth day, because so many Tests are not going five days. There'll always be an opinion on both and people will sit 50/50 on it.”
Ben Stokes: “That is why five days’ cricket should always be around. It’s the best format of the game. Games like these are unforgettable. We’ll remember this for long and so will South Africa.”
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Sir Ian Botham: “Leave the flagship of cricket alone – it’s a real test of character, skill, guts, stamina & ability...it’s real cricket for real players!!! Leave it Alone!!!!!!”
Tim Paine: “I think there is some merit on it being in the odd Test like we did with England and Ireland. But I think the big marquee Test series, the Test championship stuff has to stay five days.”
Vernon Philander: “I hope it doesn’t come to an end, hopefully we can still see five-day Tests. T20 cricketers come and go, the names come and go, but Test cricket is the ultimate. I’m a purist when it comes to cricket and I’d like to see Test matches survive for the full five days.”
Nathan Lyon:“Ridiculous. I'm not a fan of four-day Tests. I believe you'll get so many more draws and day five is crucial. One, there's the weather element. But the wickets these days are probably a lot flatter than they have been in the past, so it allows teams to bat longer and to put pressure on sides. You need time for the pitch to deteriorate and bring spinners in more on day five as well. Five-day Tests, they are hard work especially if the conditions aren't in your favour. You want to challenge yourself.”
Glenn McGrath: “I'm very much a traditionalist. I like the game the way it is. To me, five days are special and I'd hate to see it get any shorter.”
Ashley Giles: “If we played four-day cricket, I fear we would miss out on a lot matches like [Cape Town]. I know a lot of Tests now don't go to the fifth day – but you know it is precious to me, and I know it is to the players."
Richard Gould: “Not all administrators [are against it]! Just those that think broadcasters are more important than fans. Demand for 5-day Test cricket has never been higher in England. Perhaps we can help some other countries follow our lead.”
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