5 major reasons why Test matches are getting shorter
England won the fourth match against Australia at the MCG by four wickets.
The fourth test between Australia and England ended in less than two days with England winning the match by four wickets at the MCG. England were chasing a target of 175 runs in the second innings, and it was Harry Brook who hit the winning runs for the visitors.
As many as 20 wickets fell on day 1 of the fourth test. The highlight of the Test match was how much the moving ball troubled the batters from both sides. In addition, the lateral movement off the track and the uneven bounce further increased the difficulties for the batsmen.
It was the pacers from both sides who made merry on what was a difficult batting wicket. The difficulty level of the wicket can be gauged from the fact that none of the batters were able to score a fifty in the match, and the highest team total was 178/6 posted by England in the second innings.
The visitors needed 175 runs to win in the 2nd innings. Travis Head’s 46 that he scored in the second innings was the highest score posted by an Australian batter in this match. For England, it was Jacob Bethell who scored 40 off 46 balls in the second innings in the chase.
Test matches around the world in recent times have finished inside the first two or three days. Apart from the recent Australia vs England series in the WTC 2025-27 cycle, the India vs South Africa 2025 Test series also saw matches finishing in the first three to four days.
The fourth Test between Australia and England was among the shortest test matches played in this WTC cycle so far, as it lasted just over 140 overs. In this article, we will analyse why international red-ball games are becoming shorter and shorter with every passing Test match.
5. Quality Bowling
Test match bowling in recent times has improved overall, be it pace or spin. Josh Tongue proved it with his immaculate pace bowling in the fourth Test at MCG. For Australia, it was the likes of Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser who found themselves among the wickets in the fourth Test.
Starc has already picked up 26 wickets in the series so far, with England’s Brydon Carse placed second with 19 wickets in the leading wicket-taker’s tally for Ashes 2025-26. In the recent Test series between India and South Africa, it was Simon Harmer, the Proteas off-spinner, who posed problems for the Indian batters.
4. Aggressive Batting Approach
England’s “Bazball” approach came under heavy criticism when they lost the ongoing Ashes series against Australia away from home. However, Ben Stokes and his team followed the same approach in the fourth Test, which led to a collapse in their batting order nearly twice.
England were made to work hard by the Australian bowlers in the second innings, and the team can consider themselves lucky to an extent to have won the fourth Test.
Modern batsmen lack the qualities necessary to succeed at this level in Test cricket. The all-out approach from the England batsmen has brought their downfall in this series.
3. Poor defensive technique
When it comes to the batsmen facing quality spin bowling, they have shown a lack of willingness to score runs and have certainly displayed poor defensive skills. Simon Harmer is the recent name that troubled all the Indian batters in the recent Test series, taking 17 wickets in the two-match Test series against India.
He averaged 8.94 in the series and bowled with an economy of 1.92. The inability of the Indian batters to read him played into his hands as he won the Player of the Series award.
2. Uneven pitches
In recent times, test cricket pitches have been deemed poor and uneven. As a result, the batsmen are unable to score runs and lose their wickets easily. Cricket experts and fans alike heavily criticised the Kolkata pitch for the first match between India and South Africa.
However, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir’s comments on the Kolkata pitch had surprised everyone. As it turned out, India lost the Test series 0-2 after losing the first Test at the Eden Gardens.
1. WTC Incentive Structure
Currently, in the ongoing WTC 2025-27 campaign, the points table is being measured based on percentage points. In the league stage, teams are rewarded based on the percentage of points won in the total matches played, not on the total number of points earned.
So far, teams receive 12 points for a win, 6 points for a tie, and 4 points for a draw. However, the ICC is considering better ways to reward teams for victories, especially overseas wins. The ICC is considering giving teams points based on their margin of victory.
These changes can certainly be more rewarding for the teams and improve the overall points structure for the competition. Because of this structure, every team now wants to win every match and doesn’t aim for a tie.
Who won the fourth AUS vs ENG test?
England won the fourth match by four wickets at the MCG.
Who won the Ashes 2025-26 series between Australia and England?
Australia have already won the series 3-1.
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Anshuman Roy is a senior cricket journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering the game. His love for cricket began in childhood, playing at school and college level before turning that passion into a profession. Over the years, he has written for several reputed media houses and specialises in news, features, previews, reviews, match reports, and opinion pieces.