England captain Joe Root says it is worth trialling four-day Test matches in a bid to boost the game in countries where the format is struggling.
Root – speaking to the Sky Sports Cricket podcast – believes cricket players and fans alike should be “open-minded” to change after the International Cricket Council indicated it is considering reducing matches from five days in 2023, to help player workload.
Four-day matches have been an option since 2017, with England scheduling one against Ireland last summer only for the game to be over inside three.
Root said: “I think there’s a place for it in the game – I do, whether that’s across the board or can it be flexible?
“We obviously played one against Ireland. I do think it’s worth trialling. It might not always make sense for England to play it, especially if it’s against Australia or some of the bigger sides.
“But it might draw a bit more interest to some of the sides who struggle to get people into the grounds.”
Asked if he thought it might have a detrimental impact on spin in Test cricket, he replied: “I think it would be hard to take spin out of the game when you’re in Asia, anyway.
“If you don’t try it you don’t know. You should be open-minded enough to at least try it and see how it goes. I think the most important thing is to not make a definitive decision.
“I love playing five days of cricket; personally, I think it’s the best format. The extra day really does make sure that the majority of the time that the best team wins the game.”
Root joined Sky Sports Cricket pundits and former England captains Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain for the wide-ranging podcast, which you can listen to in full here.
Between them the trio have captained 13 per cent of the Tests England have ever played, and with Root now at the helm he offered a frank insight into the state of the side at the start of the decade following the 2-2 Ashes draw with Australia, 1-0 series defeat in New Zealand and first Test loss to South Africa last week.
That means, that in 2019, England won four of their 12 Tests, losing six along the way and using 23 players, but Root says there is a good core in the team to build around.
“It has been a year of transition – there has been quite a lot of change,” he explained. “It has been quite an unusual way that the series have come about; having a World Cup in the middle of it all, it felt like we didn’t play Test cricket for a long period of time.
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“There were guys coming off the back of a World Cup having to deal with that and going into a series like the Ashes in the space of a week and a half, with a very spicy Ireland Test in the middle of it all.
“I think one of the big challenges this Test team has is the comparisons that are thrown from the success of the white-ball team.
“The focus had to shift onto the white-ball team and you’ve seen the impact that four years has had – it has made such a significant difference. It was something that needed to be done and it really worked.
“I think that if that’s now levelled out and there is a bit more focus put back into Test cricket, which there will be, we’ll start seeing a bit more progression again.
“I do think there are a number of things that need to change. It will take longer; it’s a longer game. In time we will see a massive improvement in our red-ball stuff.”
So what would Root’s one wish be for England in 2020?
“Win every game – and handsomely as well! I just want to see us keep improving. There’s a real desire from the group, a real drive in the way that they go and approach training and practice.
“There are a number of very young guys at the start of their careers and you want them to really feel comfortable, assured, and that they are taking those opportunities to make those positions their own.
“I’d really love to see that happen quite quickly at the start of the year and then for this team to continue to grow in confidence and start to switch the glimpses of the talent and the ability that is there and putting that into hard-earned performances, which I don’t feel we’re that far away from.”
On the podcast, Root also…
– explains the many and varied responsibilities of a modern-day Test captain and gives an insight into the decision-making process that goes into all aspects of the game.
– shares his reflections on the defeat at Centurion and his admission that ’emotion did take over’ when England persisted with short-ball tactics in the second innings.
– explores how his relationship with James Anderson and Stuart Broad has evolved over the years and explains what it is like to give advice to them, as a batter!
– gives an insight into how his captaincy has changed since he took over and whether he directly compares his performances to those of Steve Smith and Virat Kohli.
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