stephen
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
The problem with all of the reasoning offered for 4 day tests in this thread is that it makes the absurd implication that shortening test matches will somehow make them more accessible and draw bigger crowds.
There has been no explanation of why 4 day tests will be more popular. Just an absurd belief that they will be.
The fact is that the shorter formats are already there to cater to those crowds. Tests are supposed to be the pinnacle of cricket. Stretching the days to 110/120 overs is just going to wreck bowlers. You'll not see less batsmen, you'll see more overs from batsmen who can roll their arm over. You'll see more fast bowler injuries due to captains over bowling their top bowlers. You'll see fast bowlers bowl more within themselves to get through their overs.
Let's say a bowling side bowls a team or for 600 on a flat deck. The batting side strikes at 50. That requires 200 overs. Right now that ends half way through day 3. That ends around dinner on day 2 in the second format.
In reality though it's worse than that. Because the bowlers are now bowling 30 extra overs at the end of their first day. Even if 10 of those extras are bowled by a part timer (bringing the total to 20 for the day), your main bowlers each have to bowl an extra 30 balls each on day 1.
So now you have 20 part time overs instead of 10, your fast bowlers have now bowled 22-25 overs instead of 17-20 (25-30% extra load) and you've gained nothing.
The rest day in the middle idea means you can't even do the one thing that this format could give - 3 tests in 3 weeks.
Truly a poorly thought out idea that would do nothing to help the game and make it objectively a worse exhibition of skill.
There has been no explanation of why 4 day tests will be more popular. Just an absurd belief that they will be.
The fact is that the shorter formats are already there to cater to those crowds. Tests are supposed to be the pinnacle of cricket. Stretching the days to 110/120 overs is just going to wreck bowlers. You'll not see less batsmen, you'll see more overs from batsmen who can roll their arm over. You'll see more fast bowler injuries due to captains over bowling their top bowlers. You'll see fast bowlers bowl more within themselves to get through their overs.
Let's say a bowling side bowls a team or for 600 on a flat deck. The batting side strikes at 50. That requires 200 overs. Right now that ends half way through day 3. That ends around dinner on day 2 in the second format.
In reality though it's worse than that. Because the bowlers are now bowling 30 extra overs at the end of their first day. Even if 10 of those extras are bowled by a part timer (bringing the total to 20 for the day), your main bowlers each have to bowl an extra 30 balls each on day 1.
So now you have 20 part time overs instead of 10, your fast bowlers have now bowled 22-25 overs instead of 17-20 (25-30% extra load) and you've gained nothing.
The rest day in the middle idea means you can't even do the one thing that this format could give - 3 tests in 3 weeks.
Truly a poorly thought out idea that would do nothing to help the game and make it objectively a worse exhibition of skill.