The International Cricket Council, the sport's governing body, is considering shortening Test matches from five to four days in a bid to revamp the game's traditional format. The five-day game faces stiff competition from the slam-bam Twenty20 version, whose growing popularity is reflected in the success of the Indian Premier League and the recent World Championship in England. David Morgan, the ICC president, said it was imperative to make Test cricket more exciting. “The board of the ICC is determined to ensure that Test match cricket is seen as the pinnacle of our great game,” Morgan told India Today magazine. “Another thought... that we are examining is whether Test match cricket can be played over four days rather than five. I would be very surprised if within a year you haven't seen some significant changes in Test match cricket.” Morgan also said the ICC was considering having day-night Tests with colored balls. “We need better over-rates, better pitches that give a good balance between bat and ball and we need to consider day-night Test cricket,” he said. “There is great support for it, the issue is the color of the ball and the quality of the ball. It would be a pity if Test match cricket – day-night – had to be played with a white ball and therefore colored clothing. “We are looking very closely at ball-manufacturing design that replicates a red ball, maybe an orange ball, a ball that could still allow us to play in white clothing and still at night.” A two-tier Test structure was recently mooted by Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager, to divide the stronger and weaker teams and make the format more competitive. India finalizes venues India's cricket board has finalized venues for the seven limited-overs internationals against Australia this year. Traditional major venues like Mumbai and New Delhi were among the seven cities selected Wednesday by the cricket board's tour program committee on the basis of its rotation policy. However the Australian tour in November will not feature Calcutta's Eden Gardens – the subcontinent's biggest stadium. Gauhati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mohali and Nagpur are the other cities selected to host one-dayers against Australia. The itinerary is still to be finalized by the two national cricket boards. Lanka beefs up security Sri Lanka has stepped up security for the visiting Pakistan team and slapped new restrictions at match venues, officials said Wednesday. Fireworks, musical bands, glass bottles, tin cans, sharp objects, laser pointers and mirrors have all been banned from the grounds where the matches are slated to be played. “Other than national flags of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, no banners, posters and discriminating slogans will be allowed,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said. The series comes about a month after Sri Lanka ended a bloody, four-decade ethnic war against Tamil Tiger rebels. Pakistan's three-day warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo that ends Wednesday saw hundreds of police commandos sealing off the ground while spectators were thoroughly frisked. The first of the three Tests begins on July 4, followed by five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 game. Gayle to join WA T20 squad West Indies captain Chris Gayle will join Western Australia for the domestic Twenty20 competition. Gayle, who has questioned the future of Test cricket amid the booming popularity of T20, will be Western Australia's international import for the tournament, coach Tom Moody announced Wednesday. The top two Australian provinces qualify for the T20 Champions League, which will be launched in India later this year.
