Test lite: ICC to mull 4-day games

London: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is ready to sanction four-day Tests for smaller nations in the 2027-29 World Test Championship cycle but India, Australia and England can still play the traditional five-day matches, according a report here. The move to reduce matches by one day would be a significant change and can help smaller nations to play more Tests and longer series.

“During discussions last week at the WTC final at Lord’s, the ICC chair, Jay Shah, is understood to have expressed his support for four-day Tests, with a view to sanctioning them in time for the 2027-29 WTC cycle,” a report in The Guardian newspaper stated.

“England, Australia and India would still be permitted to schedule five-Test series of five-day matches for the Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the newly named Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the first iteration of which begins with the first Test between England and India at Headingley on Friday.”

The ICC first sanctioned four-day Tests for bilateral contests in 2017. England played Zimbabwe over four days at Trent Bridge last month after four-day Tests against Ireland in 2019 and 2023. According to the report, “many smaller nations are reluctant to host Tests due to the time they take out of the schedule and the cost, but a move to four-day cricket would enable an entire three-Test series to be played in less than three weeks.”

The 2025-27 WTC will, however, will continue under the five-day format.