‘Test matches should end on the fifth day itself’ – Indian great lauds England and Australia for producing competitive game in 1st Test of Ashes 2023

In a nail-biting thriller, Australia beat England by 2 wickets in the first Test of Ashes 2023. Australia skipper Pat Cummins, along with spinner Nathan Lyon, scripted history as they added 55 runs for the ninth wicket to clinch the game. Meanwhile, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh praised both Australia and England for producing a great five-day-long game.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan said that a Test match should last five days not three or four days and it was a great game. “Test matches should end on the fifth day itself, not on Day 3 or Day 4. They play matches on good wickets that the spectators enjoy watching, everyone in the world is following this match, a hard-fought battle. Australia and England are showing other teams how to take Test matches into the final day,” he said.

“At no point in this match, there was a feeling that the bat dominated the ball or vice versa. When a Test goes on for five days, you will be presented with a different challenge on each day”, he further added. It’s worth noting that Harbhajan has criticized the pitches in the subcontinent citing it doesn’t give a fair chance to everyone.

Harbhajan Singh praised Ben Stokes’s move to declare in the first innings

Further speaking about the game, Harbhajan said that the decision of declaration on Day 1 of Ashes 2023 by England made sense and it was a wise decision. He said, “I think the decision to declare made sense, it was a smart thought. If Test cricket needs to survive, such positive intent needs to be on the show more often, which is why this result was possible.”

England skipper Ben Stokes also defended his decision and said he felt it was good. He said, “A loss is a loss, we said we are going to keep playing this way. This is the way we will continue playing, going hard at Australia, taking certain decisions that feel right. (On declaration regrets) Not at all, I saw it as a chance to pounce on Australia. Never easy for someone to go out and bat for 20 minutes. Who knows? Maybe Joe Root and Jimmy could have got out and we would have been in the same place.”