ECB open to the idea of four-day Tests; BCCI likely to resist

IN ORDER to attract more eyeballs and keep the longest format of the game alive, England Cricket Board (ECB) will suggest the International Cricket Council (ICC) to reduce the duration of Tests to four days. Recently, the ICC also proposed a two-tier format to improve the competition in Test cricket. 

According to a report in Daily Mail, ECB chairman Colin Graves admitted that staging a four-day Tests could help preserve the future of Test format. 

"I love Test cricket, but it's a worry when you look around the world and see diminishing numbers of spectators. If it were a business, we'd pull it to bits and re-do it. From what they've said, Australia would look at it, but it's not just about four-day games: it's about revitalising Test cricket. There are lots of questions to consider.”

Sources have also reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may not agree with ECB’s new idea. The possibility of a four-day Test match is likely to be discussed at the ICC Board meeting in Edinburg on June 27.