I Will Be Very Opposed To Getting Rid of Test Cricket, It Has To Be Five Days: Mike Gatting

Gatting also welcomed Kohli''s recent statement that India was ready to play Day/Night Tests anywhere.

Former England captain Mike Gatting has joined the large chorus of cricketers who have opposed to idea of four-day Tests. India captain Virat Kohli, icon Sachin Tendulkar among many others have been quite vocal about keeping the sanctity of Tests.

“Test cricket is unique. I keep saying it day in and day out. Sadly, it’s the administrators who don’t play, who understand that they have a problem in scheduling I suspect. Therefore, they don’t understand what a unique game Test cricket is,” Gatting said on the sidelines of the launch of the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy (TMGA) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.

“So, it’s good to have a chat, let’s talk about it so that people can understand both sides of the story. As you will know here, if there is a T20 competition here, an IPL is appetising, and all the promotions is phenomenal. When a Test series is on, you are not quite sure where we are actually playing, is that fair?” questioned the 62-year-old former Middlesex player.

Gatting was glad that Kohli endorsed the longer format. “How much publicity goes in Test cricket here? Not really. The fact that Virat Kohli has said that Day-Night Test cricket is something that he wants to play is been fantastic and was great to see what happened in Kolkata. Sadly, Bangladesh didn’t play their best or India were just too good, one of the two. But the crowds were good for day-night Test matches, so maybe, that’s the way,” he said.

“So, in those four-day talks, let’s talk about what are the areas we might actually try and improve the promotions of Test cricket and ways of making it a little better to fit it in the schedule. If there’s less Test cricket fine, but I will be very, very opposed to getting rid of Test cricket, it has to be five days. If you have bad weather in England or South Africa anyway, it’s a draw if you lose a day, so with five days you got a chance of having a result. It’s worth talking, five-day Test cricket is unique in many ways.”