Mickey Arthur, Kuldeep Yadav bat for five-day Tests

They say reducing Tests to four days would amount to “messing up” with the fabric of the longest format.

Mickey Arthur...“You want wickets deteriorating on Day Five, you want [situations] where there is lot of really good exciting draws.”

Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur has urged that the fabric of Test cricket should not be messed up with.

“Five-day Test cricket is the way to go [forward]. Test cricket challenges you mentally, physically and technically and a lot of a time on the fifth day [a result comes]. We just witnessed a very good Test match (England versus South Africa) that finished on Day Five,” Arthur said on the eve of the third T20I against India here.

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“We can talk about financial pressures and that type of stuff [for smaller teams]. I think the fabric of Test cricket should not be messed [up] with. You want wickets deteriorating on Day Five, you want [situations] where there is lot of really good exciting draws where one team plays it. I definitely think five-day Test cricket is the way to go, without doubt.”

India spinner Kuldeep Yadav reiterated captain Kohli’s stand.

“To be very honest, I will prefer five-day Test cricket. Test cricket is made for five days and I would not like to see any changes in it. According to me, something that is classic should remain classic.”