The ICC’s template for four-day Test matches has been confirmed ahead of the inaugural clash between South Africa and Zimbabwe on Boxing Day, with a minimum of 98 overs per day written into the playing conditions.
The regulation means that a total of 392 overs could be bowled in the match – only 58 less than is the case in five-day Tests.
An extra half-hour of play is expected to allow for the additional eight overs each day. The extra time will be folded into the first two sessions of the day, which will comprise two and a quarter hours each.
The other major change sees the follow-on reduced from 200 runs to 150 runs, which should assist dominant teams who are pushing for a result.
Otherwise the conditions remain similar to five-day Tests, with 30 minutes of overtime available each day to make up overs if required, and two intervals spanning a combined 60 minutes.
Because the match between South Africa and Zimbabwe is a day-night affair, the tea interval will be 20 minutes long while supper will be a 40-minute interval. That match is scheduled to start at 1.30 pm each day. Sunset will take place around 7.45pm in Port Elizabeth at that time of year, shortly after the final session gets underway.
The concept of four-day Tests is far from universally popular, but has been embraced by many administrators as a way to make the Test game more attractive and commercially viable. In October the ICC board approved a trial of four-day Tests that will run through until the 2019 World Cup.
