The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to allow four-day Test matches in future editions of the World Test Championship (WTC) to help smaller cricketing nations play more matches and longer series.

 

Only traditional five-day Tests are allowed in the current WTC cycle (2025–27), which begins with a two-Test series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Tuesday. This rule has made it difficult for smaller teams to host or play long series due to cost and time limitations.

 

Out of the 27 Test series scheduled in this WTC cycle, 17 will consist of just two matches. Only six will be a three-match series. The longer five-match Test series is reserved for the big teams: England, Australia, and India. These include the Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and a newly introduced series between England and India named the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, starting this Friday at Headingley.

 

At the WTC final held last week at Lord’s, ICC chair Jay Shah reportedly showed support for bringing four-day Tests into the next WTC cycle (2027–2029). The idea is to make Test cricket more practical and appealing for smaller nations who struggle with the financial and time demands of longer matches.

 

The ICC has already allowed four-day Tests for regular bilateral series since 2017. England played one against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge last month, and had previously played four-day Tests against Ireland in 2019 and 2023. However, introducing them in the WTC would mark a major change.

 

In four-day Tests, the daily playtime is slightly longer, with 98 overs per day instead of the usual 90, to help make up for the shorter match length. This format allows a three-match Test series to be completed in less than three weeks.

 

South Africa’s limited Test schedule, even after becoming world champions by beating Australia in the WTC final, has raised concerns, pushing the ICC to take more seriously the need to make Test cricket more accessible for all member countries.