With Pakistan and South Africa emerging as the front-runners for prolonged contests, England intends to reinstate a five-match Test series against countries other than Australia and India. With the goal of reviving Test cricket’s capacity to create intricate, captivating stories over many matches, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) views this as a critical step in reviving interest in the sport worldwide.

The first such series may happen in the summer of 2028, in between England’s Ashes match against Australia and their highly anticipated home series against India, according to a story in The Telegraph.

For many years, England’s summers were dominated by five-Test series, not just against Australia but also against South Africa, Pakistan, and the West Indies.

Shorter two- or three-match series have been more popular in recent years, especially for teams that are not members of the “big three” of Australia, England, and India. Since England’s 3-1 victory in South Africa in 2019–20, no team other than this trio has participated in a series of more than three games.

The final five-match series between England and South Africa, perhaps the most formidable Test opponent outside of the Ashes, took place in 2004–05. Their remarkable comeback, which saw them win seven straight Test matches to go to the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, strengthens their argument for a longer series.

In contrast, Pakistan and England enjoy a long-standing rivalry that is characterized by exciting games played both at home and abroad.

In 2016, they managed to clinch a 2-2 tie in their most recent four-Test series in England.

More Test matches won’t necessarily be played every summer as a result of the ECB’s suggested change. Rather, the anticipated six-Test home summer of 2028 is anticipated to have a single, four- or five-match blockbuster series in addition to a smaller one- or two-match series. The goal of this reorganization is to preserve Test cricket’s financial sustainability while enhancing its reputation.

Concerns over the health of Test cricket outside of the “big three” have also grown, which is why England made this move. The format’s difficulties were recently brought to light by South Africa’s decision to send an understrength team to New Zealand for a two-Test series in order to focus on their local T20 league. In order to convince other countries to give Test cricket priority, England plans to host lengthy, well-known series.

Furthermore, the ECB acknowledges that summers without an India series or the Ashes have often had trouble attracting the same degree of popular interest. In order to maintain interest even in non-Ashes years, England plans to schedule lengthier series against South Africa or Pakistan.