New ECB boss in favour of four-day Tests

England

New ECB chairman Colin Graves has put forth the idea that Test cricket be reduced to four days, and extended to 105 overs per day, in order to make it more exciting for fans and viable for broadcasters.

Graves, who takes up his new role officially in mid-May, has already ruffled some feathers by saying that Kevin Pietersen has a chance of playing for England again, and now he hopes to make these new proposals to the oldest format.

Graves said on the Lord's website: "Personally, I think we should look at four-day Test cricket and play 105 overs a day starting at 10.30am in the morning, and finish when you finish as all the grounds now have lights.

"Every Test match would start on a Thursday, with Thursday and Friday being corporate days and then Saturday and Sunday the family days.

"From a cost point of view you'd lose that fifth day, which would save a hell of a lot of money from the ground’s point of view and the broadcasters… I would look at that."

Graves will be speaking at an MCC meeting soon, the group that runs the laws of the game, and says the ECB will be looking towards 'modernizing' the game and keeping it financially viable, as well as entertaining.

He added: "The ECB needs to work closely with MCC, it’s the bastion of English cricket. If you look at MCC, it’s what cricket is all about.

"It’s the Spirit of Cricket, it’s quality of cricket, it’s the standard for cricket and we don't want to lose any of that.

"So long as MCC keeps modernizing at the same time as the rest of the world is modernizing, we can't keep looking backwards. That’s what I keep saying to everybody.

"Let’s look forward, let’s look at what the public want because we are in the entertainment business and that’s what we've got to remember."

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