ICC plan to end five-day Tests would remove all that is best about cricket | Barney Ronay


The tone of the game flows backwards from the possibility of five days – just look at Dominic Sibley’s century in Cape Town

No. No. No. And also: no. Not even: no thanks. No, later or maybe or let’s see. This is simply a hard, flat no. And indeed an angry and reproachful no, too. When it comes to the ICC’s suggestion that four-day Test matches may be the future of international red-ball cricket there is only one sensible response. That response is an aggressive, concerted and righteous rejection.

This is an informed no, too, a no that understands we live in a sporting world dominated by greed and short-termism (otherwise known as the commercial or “real” world). Change and compromise have been the dominant notes of cricket’s evolution over the last few years. A great many lines that shall never be crossed have already been cheerfully discarded, often with no harm done in the process.

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