England plan to resume playing five-match Test series in the future against countries other than Australia and India, as part of plans to galvanise interest in the format, with Pakistan and South Africa lined up as potential opponents.
The first expanded Test series could be as early as the summer of 2028, a year that falls between England hosting Australia and India in Test matches. The England & Wales Cricket Board believe that series of greater length would help to cultivate interest in the Test game, beyond series involving other members of the ‘big three’, and show off the format’s unique capacity to develop narratives over multiple games. It is also thought that longer series will create more of a sense of occasion.
The first available summer for the new concept is 2028. Pakistan and South Africa - two nations against which England have historic rivalries, and which have significant support in England - are the likeliest candidates to be invited for a longer series in England. One of these countries are now set to be invited for an extended tour of England in three years’ time. The ECB are discussing options for both a four and five-match Tests series, with strong consideration for taking the radical step to organise a five-match Test series.
Such a move would mark a dramatic change in the direction of travel in Test cricket. Barring clashes involving two members of the ‘big three’ - Australia, England and India - in recent years, the format has retrenched to series of two or three matches apiece. Worldwide, no country other than Australia, England and India have been involved in a series of more than three Tests since England defeated South Africa 3-1 in 2019/20.
Barring those series against Australia and India, England have not hosted a Test series of more than three matches since 2017, when they again beat South Africa 3-1 in a four-game clash.
A generation ago, series with South Africa were considered the second most attractive in the English game. England won a classic three-match series at home to South Africa in 1998, coming from 1-0 down to seal a 2-1 victory, winning the deciding match by 23 runs in front of a rapt crowd at Headingley. In 2003, the sides played out a thrilling 2-2 series draw, with England winning a memorable final Test at The Oval.
Pakistan most recently visited for longer than three Tests in 2016, when they sealed a 2-2 draw in their four-match series by winning at The Oval. Traditionally, England also used to play eagerly-anticipated five-match series against West Indies.
More longer Test series in England would not necessarily mean more Test cricket in the country. In 2028, there are planned to be six Tests in England. Rather than taking the form of two three-match Test series - as during last summer, when England hosted West Indies and Sri Lanka - these matches will now be spread across a series of four or five Tests, alongside a one or two-game series against another opponent.
England hope that the allure of touring the country for longer series might also encourage other teams to give greater emphasis to the Test game. In early 2024, South Africa sent a dramatically understrength team to New Zealand for a two-match series, with star players told to play in South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 competition instead. But at full strength South Africa are a formidable side, as they have shown by winning their last seven Test matches. This run led South Africa to qualify for the World Test Championship final in June, when they will meet Australia at Lord’s.
Within English cricket, there have long been concerns that half of summers - those in which neither Australia nor India tour for a Test series - risk being seen as comparatively fallow years and struggle to engage the public. These fears have led England to stagger the red and white-ball tours from Australia and India, so that one of these heavyweights visits for a limited-overs series during years when neither play a Test. The moves to invite other countries for longer series are part of attempts to make the Test format more attractive in summers that do not feature a series against either Australia or India.
While there remain continued fears about the long-term health of Test cricket in much of the world, the format remains English cricket’s biggest source of revenue. Grounds in England also continue to sell-out for Test cricket, making a continued supply of attractive opponents essential for the game’s finances.
