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International Cricket

As ICC look to condense Tests, SportsCenter’s Ash’ar Khan finds out whether there is a need to tinker with the format.

Twenty20 is taking over the cricketing world by storm. And so have hard hitters like Yusuf Pathan and Shahid Afridi, who have overshadowed technically sound batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

Apparently David Morgan, the ICC President is also bitten by the T20 bug and wants a revamp of the oldest form of the game, Test cricket.

Morgan wants the five-day Test matches to be reduced to four days, making the contests crisper. A two-tier format is also suggested that would separate stronger and weaker teams and make the format more competitive. The idea of day-night Tests is also mooted to attract the crowds.

No fun playing Tests in night

"I have once played day-night Ranji matches, but I tell you its very gruelling for players to play longer version of the game in lights," former India cricketer Nikhil Chopra said.

ICC feels that a draw or no result after an encounter stretched over five days is detrimental to Test cricket's popularity and an abridged four-day version must take over. However, stats tell a different story.

62 per cent of the Test matches played world over in the last one year ended with a result. Nations known for sporting pitches and aggressive style of playing had more result-oriented Test matches. Australia had just 2 draws out of 9 in the 2007-08 season. This year they have had just 2 Tests without results out of 12. South Africa had 3 draws in 2007-08 while this year, they have had results in all the Tests they have played.

True champion's scale

"It has to do with the quality of pitches. Test cricket is the true test of skill of a batsman like Yuvraj Singh, who is a big name. I feel if he can perform in a Test on a bouncy pitch, only then he can be called a true champion" former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said.

The decision to shorten Test matches looks like a move to make room for the more lucrative Twenty20 cricket. With other boards like India, Australia and England also looking to find ways to accommodate more and more ties of the shortest version, there is clear and present danger of overcooking the goose. And Test cricket could well be made the escape goat.