England Refuse Australia And India To Announce 2 Major Series vs These Teams

With the constant growth of the T20 leagues around the globe, the focus on the Test matches has gone down incredibly. England is planning to resume the five-match Test series in the future against sides other than Australia and India, as they plan to bring more interest in the five-day format.

Most of the Test series, excluding India, Australia, and England, are mostly of two or three red-ball contests. The Ben Stokes-led side has not hosted a Test series of more than three matches since 2017 part from Australia and India when they beat the Proteas 3-1 over four fixtures.

England to host South Africa and Pakistan in five-match Test series in 2028

The recent reports of the Telegraph have confirmed that England will host two five-match Test series against Pakistan and South Africa. The year 2028 falls between them hosting Australia and India in the format, and the first expanded series could come as early as the summer.

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The board believes that the series of the greater length would help to cultivate interest in the red-ball games beyond the top three sides. This will create more of a sense of occasion.

In the first available summer of the new concept in 2028, they will host two nations, South Africa and the Green Brigade, two of the sides against whom the England side has significant support and carries a great rivalry. The ECB is discussing the options for both four and five-match Test series, with strong consideration for taking the radical step to host the five Tests.

England focuses on five-match Test series apart from India and Australia

A generation ago, the series with the Rainbow Nation was considered to be the second most attractive one in the summer, as they won a classic five-match Test series at home in 1998, coming from a 1-0 down margin to seal it by 2-1. They won the deciding game by 23 runs in front of a packed crowd at Headingley, while in 2003, the sides played out a thrilling 2-2 series draw, with England winning the memorable Test at the Kennington Oval in South London.

Pakistan’s most recent visit to the country longer than three Tests was in 2016 when they sealed a 2-2 result in four games by winning the Oval one. Traditionally, England also used to face the West Indies at home in five Tests, but the latter’s downfall in the longest format has eliminated that prediction.

In the recent summer, the Stokes’ army faced the West Indies and the Sri Lanka side in six Tests across four venues, with a couple of Tests taking place at the same ground.

Tests’ future under the clouds

The future of the red-ball format has been under the clouds for a long time. In early 2024, South Africa sent a dramatically understrength side to New Zealand for a two-match Test series, with the star players being busy in the SA20 league.

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A formidable Protea side is a strong one, as they have shown by winning their last seven games to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 at Lord’s in June, where they will meet Australia.

England, in the meantime, will face India in a five-match Test series in June this summer, after a four-day clash against Zimbabwe to start the summer at Trent Bridge. But the biggest focus for them will be on the away Ashes in Australia during the 2025-26 series.