As Afghanistan and Ireland became Test playing nations last year, a top official at the International Cricket Council has hinted at the possibility of them playing the longest format of the game over four days than five.

The last four-day Test was played between South Africa and Zimbabwe last year that ended in two days.
Afghanistan played their first Test in June in Bangalore this year against India who claimed victory on the second day.
Geoff Allardice, ICC’s general manager, said that while four-day version is an attractive option, the newly-formed World Test Championship next year will continue to be a five-day affair. The tournament involves nine teams excluding Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe.
“At the moment, (it’s about) trying to get opportunities for Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in Test cricket against teams that are in the Test championship, from a fixturing point of view that works out better over four days than five,” Allardice said as quoted by Sport 360.
The official, however, doesn’t think four-day Tests will devalue the game as it is not a new concept.
“In terms of devaluing the game, regular five-day Tests is a relatively recent thing. If you go to the 1970s, New Zealand were playing mostly four-day Test matches. You talk of devaluing Test cricket, there is a lot of history that wasn’t based around the five-day game. The percentage was reasonable, we had rest days in the past. The game has evolved. We should not see in a narrow snapshot of time.”