Pakistan head coach Misbah Ul Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis are against the proposal to mandate four-day Test cricket from the next ICC FTP cycle beginning 2023. And they'll be happy to know the Pakistan Cricket Board also share their view in this regard citing the logistical challenges that the idea brings especially in Pakistan where there are fewer daylight hours available during the peak winter cricket season.
The ICC cricket committee will be discussing the proposal borne out of the minds of less financially able cricket boards in March before making its recommendations forward to the world governing body.
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"First of all, there is no clarity at this point about how it will be taken forward," ESPNcricinfo quoted Misbah as saying. "Will it be 90 overs a day? 96? Maybe 110 overs to compensate for the fifth day? If you look at the conditions in Asia, especially in Pakistan, we barely manage to get 90 overs a day because the cricket season here is mostly during the winter."
"We don't get long days in winter, or enough to complete even 90 overs. We lose 10-15 overs a day routinely. If you lose those across a four-day Test, with 360 overs, the match effectively becomes a three-and-a-half-day affair."
"If that's the case, a lot of teams will become negative - if they fall even slightly behind in a match, they'll go straight for the draw," Misbah added. "The results ratio is already pretty low, that will worsen and people's interest in Tests will dip. They want results. In a five-day match, even if there's rain in the middle, there's still enough time to try and force a result."
While many believe trimming the game down to four days will help with the players' workload, Misbah thinks differently. "Another important thing - if you force the workload of five-day cricket into four days, with an increase in overs, then it is very difficult," he said.
"You still get only 11 players in the team. Most teams play with four bowlers. But even if they have five, the workload of 16-17 overs a day on your fast bowlers, or at the most 20, will become even more. So their injury risks will rise."
"And the quality of their bowling - if you raise the load of a 145-150kph bowler from 18 overs to 25-26, then what will happen? Their quality will be compromised."
Waqar echoed Misbah's sentiments; "I don't like to see any change to the length of this format at all. It's beautiful this way and when you trim it down to four days, you are going to compromise the standard of it," he said. "Hypothetically, one lengthy first innings can suck the fun out of the Test and the probability of drawn games will be too high. Every day in five-day Tests has its own intrigue and importance and the fifth day is the one that offers the most thrill."
"I know there have been several three or four day finishes as well but that is because of the pitches," Waqar added. "Five-day Test cricket is special and it should be preserved the way it is. You already experimented with ODI cricket a lot and it's still fine but Test cricket we should leave as it is."
"The temperament and patience level is set for five days and it is meant to gauge a player's composure, fitness and his ability. Four-day cricket is going to add extra workload on bowlers because they'll have to bowl a lot more and there'll be no respite for them. Are you reducing the days simply for commercial value? For that, go ahead and try day-night cricket."
(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
