According to a source, India, Australia, and England can continue to play the customary five-day matches, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) is prepared to approve four-day Test matches for smaller countries in the 2027–29 World Test Championship cycle.
Reducing the number of matches by one day would be a big shift that might help smaller countries play longer series and more Test matches.
"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.
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," a report in "The Guardian' newspaper said.
In 2017, the ICC authorized four-day Test matches for bilateral competitions for the first time. Following four-day Test matches against Ireland in 2019 and 2023, England played Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge over four days last month.
“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. In four-day Tests, the playing hours are extended to mandate a minimum of 98 overs per day rather than 90 overs to mitigate the time lost," the report further said.
"South Africa's threadbare itinerary, despite being crowned world champions in the thrilling final against Australia at Lord's last week, has further highlighted the issue, and focused minds on the need for change," it added.
Nonetheless, the current five-day match format will be used during the 2025–27 World Test Championship. The two-Test series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh starts on Tuesday.
Seventeen of the 27 Test series between the nine participating nations in the 2025–27 cycle will only consist of two matches, while the remaining six series will consist of three matches each.
India, Australia, and England will each face off against the other in a five-Test series.
(PTI inputs)
