ICC introduces host of changes ahead of Port Elizabeth’s four-day Test
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After months of interventions by the ICC officials, 2017 will end with cricket's first-ever international four-day match between South Africa and Zimbabwe. ICC has stated numerous changes in it from the classic five-day format with the most important being its extension by eight more overs each day.
The format was gifted an ICC status in October this year when the then ICC chief executive David Richardson had stated that the shorter format would be rolled on an experimental basis until the 2019 World Cup, and participation was not made mandatory. The main purpose of its introduction at the international level was to help sides like Ireland, Afghanistan, or even Zimbabwe, who have not been at their best of late.
India’s postponing of their South African tour further acted as a catalyst for getting the new format into the fore, as South Africa’s cricket board didn’t want to break their custom of having a Christmas fixture and invited Zimbabwe.
As per the new ICC rules, each day of the Test in Port Elizabeth will need to have a minimum of 98 overs, which is eight overs more than what is normal in five-day cricket. Also, a lead of 150 runs will be enough to enforce a follow-on by a side that stands at 200 runs in five-day Tests. The reduced follow-on mark is in keeping with the existing laws of the game, as already applied in domestic and other four-day first-class cricket.
The shortened format would need to accommodate the extra overs of an entire day and therefore will run for six and a half hours each day, instead of the usual six hours. Each session will last a minimum of two hours and a maximum of two and a half hours; however, the world governing body has left it to the home board to determine the hours of play and duration of the sessions.
Port Elizabeth will see the normal hours of play, where it starts from 1.30pm local time to 9 pm, with the first and second sessions being two hours and 15 minutes each, while the final session will run for two hours. An extra 30 minutes will be available to the fielding team to complete the minimum required overs each day.
Beyond that half-an-hour of overtime, any remaining overs cannot be carried over to the following day unless there has been a stoppage for "any reason other than normal intervals" like rain breaks, etc. Unlike a regular Test, where the last hour of play on the final day commences when it’s 75 overs, the four-day Test will see it officially commencing only when it’s 83 overs. In cases where 83 overs are bowled ahead of schedule, the calculations for the last hour will be dictated by the clock, as is done in five-day cricket.
