Women's Test matches should be played for five days: ICC chair

International Cricket Council (ICC) chair Greg Barclay said on Friday women's Test matches should be played for five days. However, he also has raised doubts about the role in the format that is longer for women's cricket, reports Reuters.

Test matches for women are played for four days, as opposed to five days in the men's game. The five matches in the Test series which have been played since 2017 ended with an unfinished draw.

England captain Heather Knight has backed five day-Tests. England bowler Kate Cross said women cricketers are fit enough to deal with the demands of longer matches following the draw of the Ashes Tests in January.

"Most people would say five days are required," Barclay said to the BBC. "If they are going play it, my personal view is they should have five days to play it in."

The only countries that participate in a women's cricket match in the past five years have been England, Australia and India.

Barclay stated that shorter cricket formats are "the way of the future" for the sport, stating that one-day internationals as well as Twenty20 cricket are more popular with fans.

"It is where broadcasters are putting their resources," Barclay stated. "It is the reason why they are generating the revenue.

"To take part in Test cricket, you need structures in your country”.