Daily Times

SYDNEY: Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts has given his backing to the four-day Tests, saying it is something the board will consider. “There’s a bit to be said for it,” Roberts told SEN. “It’s certainly something we need to be open minded to down the track. “The average duration of a Test match is a shade over four days. We know there’s been timeless Tests over the years, we know there were even three-day Tests. So Test cricket hasn’t been five days in duration forever.

“And I think the concepts of four days going forward is something we need to be open to, without jumping to conclusions.” South Africa played Zimbabwe in the first four-day Test last year and ended up winning inside two days. England are scheduled to play Ireland in a four-day Test next year. Australia don’t have any such set plans for now, but Roberts said their game against Afghanistan in November 2020, which falls outside the Test championship, could be suited for the experiment. Meanwhile, Roberts also denied suggestions that Cricket Australia had asked the curator for a green pitch for the Perth Test. “Certainly not,” Roberts said. “There were photos in local media of Justin (Langer) checking out the wicket with the curator the other day.

“But you don’t prepare a Test match wicket over the course of three or four days, it’s done over months. The nature of the deck couldn’t be influenced over the last few days. “There’s no instruction to say it should play this way or that way. It’s essentially a good contest between bat and ball that’s consistent with the characteristics of each venue. That’s as far as it goes. The right thing for cricket doesn’t necessarily mean we’re producing conditions that mean our teams are a walk-up start to beat our visiting opposition.”

Published in Daily Times, December 16^th2018.