England players appeal unsuccessfully for the wicket of Pakistan’s Azan Awais on Friday. (Reuters/Matthew Childs Photo)
Only 41.43% of Tests in the 2020s have lasted all five days, according to Sky Sports’ data. That figure was as high as 77.65% in the 1970s and stood at 54.76% in the 2010s. “When Nas ( Nasser Hussain ) and I were playing in the 1990s, the number of games finished in three days or less was around about 7 per cent (6.98 per cent). “In the last decade (from 2017-current), there have been nine occasions where Test matches have finished in two days, and there wasn’t a single two-day Test between 1946 and 2000.
Because of T20 cricket, “If I give 4-5 reasons from the top of my head, we would go into each one: batting is higher risk now. And that is now 20 per cent, so that is a big difference,” he said.
DRS has had an impact; umpires are more likely to give LBWs,” Atherton said. The importance of home advantage in the WTC has encouraged teams to prepare surfaces that offer more assistance to their own bowlers, according to Atherton. So, whether it is turning pitches in India, or seam-friendly pitches in England, pitches have become more bowling-friendly since the advent of WTC,” he said. The Test matches are going quicker,” Atherton said.
Former England captain Michael Atherton believes the trend is the result of several changes in modern cricket, ranging from the influence of T20 batting to more bowler-friendly pitches, the impact of DRS and the emergence of a strong group of fast bowlers. If you take more risk, you have more chance of getting out. There’s a good crop of fast bowlers around right now. He also pointed towards changes in pitches during the World Test Championship era. “Pitches have become more advantageous since the advent of the World Test Championship; teams are generally looking to get home advantage more. The former England captain also pointed to a striking statistic from Sky Sports’ graphic on day-wise Test finishes.
Test cricket has long been defined by its five-day nature, but the format is increasingly seeing matches finish well before the scheduled fifth day.