Four-day Test matches will increase drawn games, believes Ricky Ponting

As the reports of International Cricket Council (ICC) considering 4 day Test matches surfaced, there has been a flurry of both current and former cricketers who have voiced their disagreement over the same. The latest player to join the movement is former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting who didn’t shy away from hailing himself as a traditionalist.

Ponting demanded a solid reason for scraping the traditional 5 day format of the game as he pointed out that shortening the duration would only escalate the number of drawn games, something which is not very acceptable.

"I'm against it but I'd like to hear from the people who are pushing it what the major reason is," Cricket.com.au quoted Ponting as saying.

"I know we've had a lot of four-day games the last couple of years but what I've noticed in the last decade is how many drawn Test matches there have been, and I just wonder if they had have been all four-day Test matches through that period of time would we have had more drawn games. That's one thing I don't think anybody wants to see.”

The reports which have been doing the rounds lately understand that ICC is considering the 4 day format to completely replace the traditional format from 2023. Many associations have come forward to support the move claiming that it would help simplify the overloaded annual schedule and the players’ workload.

Ponting said that if something is not really badly broken, then why do we need to fix it?

"I understand there is a commercial side to it, saving money and things like that and how they would start on a Thursday to finish on Sunday.

"I'd like to hear the other reasons behind it. I don't understand it enough and I'm very much a traditionalist, so if something's not really badly broken then why do we need to fix it or change it?" Ponting concluded.