Cricket South Africa voices support towards ICC's proposal for four-day Tests

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has publicly voiced their support toward the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) proposition to four-day Test matches in attempts to make the longest format of the game more thrilling for the fans.

CSA released an official statement on Tuesday (January 7), rubbishing all the recent reports which suggested that they are against the idea.

“In view of an unsourced and misleading report in the media this morning, please be advised that it is Cricket South Africa’s official policy to support four-day Test match cricket. We, in fact, hosted the first official four-day test match between ourselves and Zimbabwe a couple of years ago,” the statement read.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) recently also confirmed their stand on ICC's proposition and claimed they will support the idea after 2023.

However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) are yet to reveal their decisions.

Team India skipper Virat Kohli while speaking on this topic on Saturday (January 5) told reports, "I am not a fan. I think the intent will not be right then because then you will speak of three-day tests, I mean where do you end? Then you will speak of test cricket disappearing. I don’t endorse that at all.”

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has expressed his thoughts on ICC's proposed idea and claimed it will definitely hamper the future of Test cricket.

“The idea of play four-day Test match is rubbish and no one should be interested in this. Sourav Ganguly will not let this thing happen as he is an intelligent man with a lot of cricketing experience. He will not let the Test cricket die,” Shoaib said.

“The ICC can not implement a four-day Test without BCCI’s permission. I want more people from Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka to come forward and give a strong statement about this. I want legendary cricketers from my country to voice their opinion,” he added.