The International Cricket Council is likely to reduce the duration of Test cricket and reduce it to four days per Test match. However, it is likely to be applicable only for the smaller countries, while big ones like England, India and Australia may continue with the five-day duration. As per a report from the Guardian, it is said that the decision has been taken in the wake of repeated demands for having more Test matches in small countries. But to combat the cost and time, it was not possible to provide them the necessary. Thus, the ICC will likely shorten the duration but will extend the number of overs played in a day. According to the report from "The Guardian," "During discussions last week at the WTC final at Lord's, the ICC chair, Jay Shah, is understood to have expressed his support for four-day Tests, with a view to sanctioning them in time for the 2027-29 WTC cycle." It added, "England, Australia and India would still be permitted to schedule five-Test series of five-day matches for the Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the newly named Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the first iteration of which begins with the first Test between England and India at Headingley on Friday." Read also: ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: Full Schedule Announced Number of overs will be revised in new rule In a normal Test match, ninety overs are bowled per day. In that case the overs count will be increased to ninety eight to make up the time lost. The report further said, "Many smaller nations are reluctant to host Tests due to the time they take out of the schedule and the cost, but a move to four-day cricket would enable an entire three-Test series to be played in less than three weeks. In four-day Tests the playing hours are extended to mandate a minimum of 98 overs per day rather than 90 overs to mitigate the time lost. South Africa's threadbare itinerary despite being crowned world champions in the thrilling final against Australia at Lord's last week has further highlighted the issue, and focused minds on the need for change." Notably, the ICC gave its approval for four-day Tests in bilateral cricket back in 2017. England recently faced Zimbabwe in a four-day match at Trent Bridge last month, having previously played Ireland in similar four-day Tests in 2019 and 2023. Well, the 2025-27 World Test Championship will see no change in the format.