At a time when Cricket South Africa (CSA) is pressing for a four-day Test against Zimbabwe later this year, it has received some discouraging words from two of their biggest Test players – captain Faf du Plessis and opening batsman Dean Elgar.
Recent reports have suggested although the players will play the four-day Boxing Day Test, CSA had not properly consulted them before taking the surprising decision.
While du Plessis expressed his apprehensions over the four-day game by claiming the shortened format would make the games easier, Elgar felt there is no need to ‘tinker with something that’s not broken’.
“I am a fan of five-day Test cricket,” du Plessis said after the win over Bangladesh in the first Test. “I believe the great Test matches have gone to the last hour of the last day on day five. That’s what is so special about Test cricket. In four-day cricket or first-class cricket, it does feel easier because there are only four days.
“For five days you have to graft it out. Bowlers have to bowl a lot more, and batters have to construct much bigger innings. This Test proved that a day five was needed. If it was a rain-off yesterday, it would have been very disappointing, so I am a fan of that,” he added.
“I’m a five-day Test specialist, and it must stay that way in my opinion,” said Elgar. “I don’t think you should tinker with something that’s not broken. If you go and play around the world, Test cricket is followed quite well. If you play in Australia, if you play in England, even if you play in South Africa against the relatively big nations you still get very good crowds. There are other formats that are being experimented with. I don’t see why Test cricket should suffer. I am a purist when it comes to that. Hopefully, the game can have longevity in the five-day format.”
While du Plessis admitted the four-day Test would see the captains adapting a new approach, he reiterated his support for the tradition format of the game, saying that the five-day game tests the skills of a player to the fullest.
“You will have creative captaincy, more aggressive game plans, sporting declarations,” he admitted. “But I think with the way Test cricket is at the moment, it’s about how long you can go, how long can your skill sets last. That’s the challenge with Test cricket. When four-day Tests come, obviously people will just make sure they change and adapt the way the game needs them to. That’s what we as players have to do; we adapt our skill sets.”
Elgar also echoed his captain’s sentiments and voted in favour of the five-day game.
“Us as players, we know we still have to have a job. We have to go out and play for five days,” he said. “I don’t think you should tinker with the duration of the match depending on who you are playing against. That’s when you start disrespecting the game a little bit and ultimately not favouring the format. You can ask me this as many times as you want. I am a five-day specialist, and that’s the way it should stay.”