Morgan hints at 4-day Tests

Mumbai: ICC President David Morgan has hinted that Test cricket may be reduced to a four-day affair in an attempt to preserve the excitement and interest in the sport’s oldest format.

In an interview to India Today magazine, Morgan said that he would be "very surprised" if significant changes aren't made to Test cricket over the next year. "I would be very surprised if within a year you haven't seen some significant changes in Test match cricket," Morgan said. 

"I think in a year's time you will see for yourself changes that have occurred in Test match cricket." 

Also on the ICC’s radar is the proposed two-tier system which creates two blocks between the 10 Test playing nations. He reiterated that ICC intends to limit the number of Twenty20 internationals in a calendar year in order to preserve the Tests and 50-over formats. "There is a limitation of seven T20 internationals in any one year and I would be reluctant to see that being increased, by any large amount," Morgan said, adding: "It was "initially designed as a means of enriching domestic cricket."

Morgan said innovations to the 50-over format could end speculation of the older limited-overs format making way for cricket’s latest fixation Twenty20s. "It provided a whole day's entertainment as opposed to requiring two T20 matches to provide the same duration of entertainment,” he said referring to the seven-match ODI series between England and India in 2007.