Nathan Lyon has described four-day Test matches as "ridiculous" and made it clear he strongly opposes the idea of shortening contests in the game's longest format. (More Cricket News)
Two four-day Tests have already been played after the ICC approved a trial in 2017, while Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said the issue is one his organisation will "consider really seriously" when it looks at its next cycle of international matches from 2023-2031.
Speaking on The Unplayable Podcast, Lyon offered a passionate defence of five-day Tests.
Asked for his thoughts on four-day contests, he responded: "Ridiculous. You look at all the big games around the world and some of the best Test matches I've been part of, they go down to the last day.
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"You look at [Australia] against India at Adelaide in 2014, that went down to the last half-an-hour on day five. Then you look at Cape Town in 2014 as well, you look at that Test match [between South Africa and Australia] where Ryan Harris bowled Morne Morkel with two overs to go, so that's gone down to the last 10 minutes on day five.
"I'm not a fan of four-day Test matches. I believe you'll get so many more draws and day five is crucial. One, there's the weather element.
"But [also] the wickets these days are probably a lot flatter than they have been in the past, so it allows teams to bat longer and to put pressure on sides … and you need that time for the pitch to deteriorate and bring spinners in more on day five as well.
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"I'm totally against it and I really hope ICC aren't even considering it."
