NZC welcomes four-day Tests and two-tier Test cricket

New Zealand Cricket has welcomed ICC’s proposal to separate Test nations into two divisions and called for cutting down the length of a Test from five days to four.

Australia won the first day-night Test, played against New Zealand in Adelaide last year.

New Zealand Cricket has welcomed ICC’s proposal to separate Test nations into two divisions and called for cutting down the length of a Test from five days to four. It was a bid to keep Tests relevant in the current age and ensure their constant innovation, according to NZC chief David White.

“We seriously need to look at [the idea of four-day Tests]. "One of the challenges at the moment is if you play a three-Test series it has to be played over four weeks. Four weeks is a long time. But if you play a three-Test series of four-day cricket, it can be played over three weeks, so you save a week,” White told ESPNcricinfo .

"We are big supporters [of the two-tier system]," he said. "Everyone agrees we need context, we need something that's aspirational. [But] the countries who don't make the top division in the first instance [should not be] not disadvantaged financially - that's really important."

The two-tier system has been opposed by the ‘weaker’ teams in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

NZC has also shown its enthusiasm to continue with a push for more day-night Tests in the international calendar. New Zealand played its first and only day-night Test late last year against Australia; it was a successful spectacle, with a large crowd and an exciting contest confirming it.