Women's Test matches should be played over five days, says ICC chief Greg Barclay
India Today
International Cricket Council (ICC) chair Greg Barclay said women's Test matches should be played over five days, but raised doubts over the place of the longer format in the future of women's cricket.
ICC chairman Greg Barclay wants to see the women's Test match's duration be extended to five days but has questioned whether the long format will form part of the future "landscape" of the female game.
Notably, the duration of women's Test matches is just four days as opposed to five in the men's game, and the five-Test matches that have been played since 2017 have ended in a draw. England, Australia and India are the only nations to have played a women's Test match in the last five years.
England captain Heather Knight has backed five-day-Tests and England bowler Kate Cross said women cricketers were fit enough to cope with the physical demands of longer matches after the drawn Ashes Test in January.
"Most people would say five days are required," Barclay told the BBC.
"If they are going play it, my personal view is they should have five days to play it in."
Barclay added that shorter formats of cricket were "the way of the future" for the sport, saying ODI and T20I cricket were more appealing to fans.
"It is where broadcasters are putting their resources," Barclay said.
