According to sources, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is currently considering adding four-day Test matches to the World Test Championship (WTC) starting in the 2027–2029 cycle, which might mean a significant change for Test cricket in the future.
The ICC has started looking into the possibility of cutting matches to four days in order to make the format more accessible, particularly for lower-ranked teams, even if the conventional five-day format will still be used for the 2025–27 WTC cycle.
It is being viewed as a measure to help smaller countries play more red-ball cricket, both in terms of quantity and quality. The notion was first addressed during discussions at Lord’s last week during the WTC final between South Africa and Australia.
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According to reports, one of the key voices supporting the change is ICC chairman Jay Shah.
According to reports, the game’s most basic structure is considered excessively taxing for players’ bodies and minds as well as for boards’ bottom lines. Conversely, four-day matchups provide a smaller timeframe. With a little longer daily play (98 overs per day as opposed to the typical 90), they enable a three-match series to be finished in less than three weeks. For boards that are already balancing several formats and constrained resources, this means that more matches can be stuffed into shorter timetables.
A two-tier structure is probably going to emerge if four-day tests are authorized for WTC 2027–29. The Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and the recently renamed Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will not be affected, according to reports, and the “Big Three”—England, Australia, and India—will continue to play five-day Test matches against one another.
The shorter approach might, however, be progressively adopted for the remainder of the WTC program, particularly for series involving teams outside the top bracket. Four-day Tests may provide more flexibility in future cycles, as 17 of the 27 Test series scheduled for the 2025–27 WTC cycle will only include two matches.
The ICC is aware that there will always be concerns over the possibility of results and spectator engagement, and that four-day Test matches won’t be an all-inclusive solution.
