Michael Vaughan, a former England cricket captain, maintains his support for four-day Test matches. He believes this format is essential for the future growth of Test cricket, emphasising the need to adapt to changing times.
“I won’t change my tune. We’ve got to move with the times. Five-day Test match cricket, love it. Loved the MCG (Test). It would just happen a little bit quicker, and the dramatic fifth day would become the dramatic fourth day.”
Vaughan reiterated his stance during an interview with SEN Radio. He believes four-day Tests are the way forward to ensure the long-term survival of the format.
“For Test match cricket to survive, not just for our time but going beyond 50, 60, 70, 80 years, I do think it’s now a four-day product, so I’m not changing my tune.”
Vaughan used the recent Sydney Test between India and Australia, which concluded in three days, to further illustrate his point. He commented on the pitch conditions, suggesting they were not ideal for batsmen.
“I don’t think it was a great pitch. I looked at the batters batting and I felt sorry for them because it was just doing too much.”
He noted the low number of overs bowled in the series, highlighting a trend towards quicker matches. He linked this trend to pitch conditions influencing the pace of the game.
“In terms of the number of overs bowled in the series, it’s the third lowest in a five-match series in history. We’re looking at a series where the game is moving on quicker.”
Vaughan explained that if pitches were prepared to offer less assistance to bowlers, resulting in higher scores, then five-day matches would be necessary. However, he believes that with the current trend of pitches favouring bowlers, five days are often not required.
“If we go back to flat pitches and teams are getting 500 runs, of course you need five days of cricket. But if you’re going to play on pitches like this, and the ball is going to continue to do a little bit more than it has in the past, then we’re not going to need five days, that’s for sure.”
Despite the Sydney Test not lasting the full five days, Vaughan believes that the spectators who attended the match enjoyed the experience. He emphasised the entertainment value of the match, which Australia won by six wickets to secure a 3-1 series victory.
“I think if you speak to any supporter over the last three days and ask them, ‘Are you disappointed it finished so quickly?’ every single fan that went through the gates (and it was a sell-out for three days) would say they were all royally entertained. It was an amazing Test match. As an entertaining product (and that’s what Test cricket has to be), it was brilliant. It was absolutely fantastic.”
