Zimbabwe head coach Heath Streak believes that four-day format of Test cricket will surely help to level the playing field between the so-called bigger Test teams and the minnows. He also hopes that the four-day Test format would work out for the future of Test cricket.

Zimbabwe are all set to play South Africa in the inaugural four-day Test, which will also a day-night affair, at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Boxing Day on 26 December.

In the four-day Test match, there will be 98 overs in a day, that means eight more than in five-day matches, while the follow-on target has been reduced from 200 to 150, and Streak believes that the playing conditions will force teams to take more risks to win the game, playing into the hands of the underdogs, which will surely give the lesser team a lot more opportunity to get wickets.

As per Reuters, Heath Streak said, “In terms of higher and lower ranked (teams), it is much harder to bat a team out (of the game) because in doing so you might make it harder to win the test. It is a challenge, though the 98 overs in a day does make it a four-and-a-half day test.”

Zimbabwe coach concluded by saying, “It will be interesting and exciting to be part of, hopefully, it is something that does work out for the future of test cricket.”