"Players try to win as quick as possible" Michael Vaughan calls for four-day test matches

Michael Vaughan points out that four-day tests will be easier to schedule, slated to be played from Thursday to Sunday.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has raised the topic of four-day cricket once again following the India vs Australia test in Adelaide and the New Zealand vs England test in Wellington, both of which were concluded within three days.

The four-day test cricket format has been put to use earlier, sanctioned by the ICC. England and Ireland competed in a scheduled four-day test in 2023, and there was a South Africa vs Zimbabwe four-day test match in 2017.

The four-day format, which is used in domestic cricket in many places in the world, has been heavily discussed due to the test matches in recent years getting over quickly. This has been a function of teams preparing bowling-friendly surfaces in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) era.

According to a data by the sen.com.au, of the last 50 test matches, only three have been draws, and they were also impacted significantly by rain; two-third of those 50 tests have ended within four days, with plenty not lasting even three full days.

This prompted Michael Vaughan to open up the topic of four-day test matches once again. The 2005 Ashes-winning captain pointed out that the positive brand of cricket the players play these days, it ensures that matches are concluded in four days.

Start on Thursday and finish on Sunday: Michael Vaughan

Further, Vaughan asserted, that four-day test cricket would allow the boards to schedule the matches in a better way, straightaway scheduling the tests from Thursday to Sunday. This will open up a bit more space in the calendar for the board and the players.

“We’ve got players that are incredibly entertaining now. I’d start on a Thursday and finish on a Sunday. I believe four-day cricket would be easier to schedule. It’d be easy for everyone to understand that Test match, cricket starts every Thursday when we’re playing the Test match game and it finishes on a Sunday… if it makes it to Sunday,” Vaughan told SEN Afternoons.

“Let’s be honest, the way that the players go out and play their business now, they don’t play like I used to play or some of the teams back in the 80s and 90s played. They’re playing a brand of cricket which is pretty much to try and win as quick as they possibly can and put the opposition under pressure.

“So, I genuinely believe that the administrators around the world need to seriously consider if it’s time to go from five (days) to four,” the former England skipper concluded.

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