Australia coach Matthew Mott bats for five-day women's Tests
Oct 04, 2021
Queensland [Australia], October 4 : Australia coach Matthew Mott has thrown his weight behind the idea of having five-day Tests for women rather than four-day matches.
His comments came as the pink-ball Test between India and Australia concluded in a draw on Sunday despite the efforts of both teams to force a result. It needs to be noted that rain had played spoilsport on the opening two days of the Test.
"It's the five days for me. The last couple of Tests we've lost a full day, so you are essentially playing a three-day game on a surface that doesn't have any wear and tear so it is difficult," ESPNcricinfo quoted Mott as saying.
"Had this game gone another day I think we'd have seen a very good Test. A little more time in the game would certainly help everyone. If you are going to devote that time, I don't think it's a lot to ask for one extra day," he added.
Mott also suggested that a different points system can be looked at when there is a multi-format series, and if there are less points to lose, then teams might become more expressive in trying to force a result.
"Perhaps it needs a bit more discussion about whether we take it back to two so teams are willing to roll the dice a little bit more. It's only human, it's the context of the series, we'd have loved to have taken the game on and done it but it's the chance to give up four points as well," said Mott.
"In women's cricket we tend to get judged a lot more on the number of draws, but I think if you look around first-class cricket in the world, a lot of times on that last day there's some contrived result. Maybe going back to two points so there's less to lose so it's more of a spectacle is a better way of going about it," he added.
Australia and India settled for a draw as the time ran out on the final day in Carrara on Sunday. Both teams earned two points each, meaning Australia leads the multi-format series with 6 points heading into the three T20Is, while India is on 4.
Chasing 272 runs in the final session of the final day, Australia negotiated a draw despite losing two early wickets. India held command in the majority of the Test but that wasn't enough to force a result as rain on the first two days significantly reduced the number of overs bowled.
Smriti Mandhana with her maiden Test ton was awarded the Player of the Match.
