The Adelaide Oval is one of the oldest cricket grounds located in Adelaide in the state of South Australia.

Established in 1873, the Adelaide Oval is considered to be one of cricket's most picturesque Test venues and has a seating capacity of more than 50,000.

Along with the Australian cricket team, it is home to South Australia in domestic cricket and Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL).

The Adelaide Oval staged its first international cricket match, a Test played between arch-rivals Australia and England in December 1884. Under the leadership of Arthur Shrewsbury, Australia won the Test by eight wickets.

Since then, it has hosted more than 80 Test matches so far. With that being said, let’s have a look at Adelaide Oval Test records and stats.

Adelaide Oval Test records and stats

Highest total

The Australia cricket team recorded the highest total at the Adelaide Oval in Test cricket. During the fourth Test of India’s tour of Australia in January 1948, the Donald Bradman-led hosts posted a mammoth total of 674 in their first innings. Captain Donald Bradman led from the front with a scintillating double century (201), along with hundreds from Lindsay Hassett (198 not out) and Sid Barnes (112) helped Australia register a record Test total at the venue. Australia later bowled out India for 381 and 277 in their two innings to win the Adelaide Test by an innings and 16 runs.

Lowest total

The India cricket team registered the lowest total at the Adelaide Oval in Test cricket. During the first Test of India’s tour of Australia in December 2020, the visitors were bundled out for 36 in their second innings in Adelaide. Mayank Agarwal top-scored (9) for India as not a single batter reached double digits. For Australia, Josh Hazlewood bagged five wickets while Pat Cummins picked up four wickets as India recorded their lowest total in Test cricket history. Earlier, India were bowled out for 244 in their first innings and later skittled out Australia for 191. Chasing 90 in the fourth innings, the Tim Paine-led Australia chased down the target in 21 overs to secure an eight-wicket win in Adelaide.

Most runs

Former Australia cricket team captain Ricky Ponting scored the most runs at this ground in cricket’s longest format in Adelaide. Between 1996 and 2012, Ricky Ponting amassed 1,743 runs in 16 Test matches at an average of 60.10. The right-handed batter slammed six centuries and as many fifties at the Adelaide Oval in Test cricket. Legendary Australia cricketer Allan Border features second on the list with 1,415 runs in 16 matches at an average of 58.95 with four hundreds and nine half-centuries to his name.

Most wickets

Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has picked up the most wickets at the Adelaide Oval in Test cricket. The right-arm off-spinner has claimed 63 wickets in just 13 matches at an average of 25.26 between 2012 and 2024. He has recorded two four-wicket hauls and four fifers at this venue in Adelaide in Test cricket. Legendary Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne is second on the list with 56 wickets in 13 Tests at an average of 30.44.

Highest individual score

Former Australia cricketer David Warner registered the highest individual score at the Adelaide Oval in Tests. Opening the batting, David Warner slammed an unbeaten 335 against Pakistan in the first innings of the second Test in Adelaide in November 2019. Warner’s magnificent triple century was laced with 39 fours and one six to help Australia post 589/3d. Under the leadership of Tim Paine, Australia later bowled out Pakistan for 302 and 239 in their two innings to win the Test by an innings and 48 runs. 

Best bowling figures in an innings

Albert Trott, who played Test cricket for both Australia and England, recorded the best bowling figures in an innings of a Test at this venue in January 1895. Albert Trott registered match-winning figures of 8/43 to help Australia bowl out England for 143 in their second innings. Defending 526 in the fourth innings, Albert Trott dismissed England’s Archie MacLaren, Albert Ward, Jack Brown, Bill Brockwell, Bobby Peel, Francis Ford, Johnny Briggs and Bill Lockwood to guide Australia to a massive 382-run victory in Adelaide.

Best bowling figures in a match

Former Australia cricketer Clarrie Grimmett holds the record for the best bowling figures in a Test match at the Adelaide Oval in Test cricket. Clarrie Grimmett bagged 14 wickets during the fourth Test of South Africa’s tour of Australia in 1932. While Grimmett picked up seven wickets for 116 runs in the first innings, the leg-spinner claimed seven more wickets for 83 runs in the second innings. Grimmett’s brilliant bowling performance helped Australia win the Test by 10 wickets.

Highest partnership

Former Australia cricketers Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke recorded the highest partnership at the Adelaide Oval in Test cricket. During the fourth Test of India’s tour of Australia in January 2012, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke forged a massive 386-run stand for the fourth wicket to power Australia to 604/7d in their first innings. Ricky Ponting slammed 221 while Michael Clarke scored 210. The incredible partnership helped Australia secure a 298-run win in Adelaide.

Photo credit: Imago

The World Test Championship is the premier competition in Test cricket akin to the World Cup in ODI and T20 cricket. 

The idea of WTC was introduced in 2019 when the Test-playing nations played against each other for over two years. At the end of the two-year cycle, teams that occupy the top two spots in the points table will qualify to play the Final.

New Zealand won the inaugural edition of the WTC in June 2021 beating India by eight wickets at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. It was Australia who won the title in June 2023, once again beating India by 209 runs, at the Oval in London.

India currently leads the points table in the current edition of the WTC and are well-placed to qualify for the Final to be played in June 2025 in England.

Batters win you sessions, but bowlers win you matches in Test cricket. For any team to win a Test match, it is imperative that they pick up 20 wickets of the opponents within the stipulated five days.

It is sweat and toil for the bowlers as they do the dirty job to help their team get the better of their opposition. Bowling is always a thankless job, especially in the longer format of the game.

Here, we look at the players with the most wickets in WTC history after it was introduced in 2019. 

Most wickets in WTC history: List of players with most wickets in the World Test Championship

Player	Span	Matches	Wickets	Average	Strike Rate	Best Bowling figures
Nathan Lyon	2019-2024	43	187	26.70	58.05	8/64
Pat Cummins	2019-2024	42	175	22.81	46.93	6/91
Ravichandran Ashwin	2019-2024	35	174	20.43	44.79	7/71
Mitchell Starc	2019-2024	38	147	27.08	46.83	6/66
Stuart Broad	2019-2024	33	134	24.09	47.55	6/31
Kagiso Rabada	2019-2024	27	123	22.52	40.30	6/50
James Anderson	2019-2024	36	116	23.81	59.06	6/40
Tim Southee	2019-2024	30	116	28.45	59.34	5/32
Jasprit Bumrah	2019-2024	26	110	20.16	43.32	6/27
Josh Hazlewood	2019-2024	26	109	21.33	45.88	5/8

Nathan Lyon | 187 wickets

Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker in the history of the World Test Championship with 187 wickets from 43 matches. He averages 26.70 with the ball along with a strike rate of 58.05 balls per wicket. He also has 10 five-wicket hauls to his name.

The off-spinner played a stellar role in Australia’s victorious campaign in the WTC 2021-2023 cycle with a massive haul of 88 wickets from just 20 matches. He also picked up five wickets against India in the Final at The Oval, which the Aussies won by 209 runs in June 2023. 

With a tally of 43 wickets from nine games, he is fourth in the current edition of the WTC and holds the key for Australia in the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy in November 2024.

Pat Cummins | 175 wickets

Australian skipper Pat Cummins is next on the list with a tally of 175 wickets from 42 matches. The pacer has eight five-wicket hauls with an average of 22.81 runs per wicket and strikes at an excellent frequency of 46.93 balls.

Cummins has led the Australian attack from the front providing timely breakthroughs for the team. He finished second in the list of top wicket-takers in the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021 with an impressive tally of 70 wickets from just 14 matches.

Cummins once again finished in the top five list in the subsequent edition of WTC to take Australia to the title in 2023. He is currently second in the bowling charts in the ongoing WTC cycle with 48 wickets from 12 matches.

Ravichandran Ashwin | 174 wickets

Following closely at third spot is India’s Ravichandran Ashwin with 174 wickets, just one short of Cummins, from 35 matches, including 10 five-wicket hauls. The off-spinner has an impressive average of 20.43 and a strike rate of 44.79, both best among his peers in the top-five wicket-takers list in the WTC.

Ashwin topped the bowling charts in the WTC 2019-2021 cycle with 71 wickets from 14 matches. He finished third in the list of top wicket-takers in the next edition in 2023. Ashwin’s excellent performances lifted India to consecutive Finals in the first two editions, the only team to do so.

In the current WTC cycle too, Ashwin is the top Indian in the list of wicket-takers with 42 wickets from eight matches.

Mitchell Starc | 147 wickets

Mitchell Starc completes the Aussie domination in the list of bowlers with the most wickets in the history of WTC. Starc is placed fourth with 147 wickets from 38 matches.

The left-arm pacer has an average of 27.08 and a strike rate of 46.83 with three five-wicket hauls to his name. He is currently third in the list of wicket-takers in the WTC 2023-2025 cycle with 48 wickets from 11 matches.

Photo credit: Imago

The Perth Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Burswood in Western Australia.

Built by a consortium led by Multiplex, the construction of the Perth Cricket Ground was completed in late 2017 and officially opened in January 2018.

With a seating capacity of 61,266, which can be expanded to 65,000 seats for rectangular sports, the venue is the third-largest cricket stadium in Australia after the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and Stadium Australia.

It is home to the Western Australia cricket team, who have won the Sheffield Shield on 17 occasions and the Marsh One-Day Cup 16 times. It is also home to the five -time Big Bash League champions Perth Scorchers.

The Perth Stadium staged its first international match, which was an ODI played between Australia and England in January 2018. The visitors won the game by 12 runs.

It later hosted its first Test match between Australia and India in December 2018. The Tim Paine-led Australia won the Perth Test by 146 runs. Since then, it has staged two more Tests so far.

Let’s have a closer look at the Perth Stadium Test records and stats.

Perth Stadium Test records and stats

Highest total

The Australia men’s cricket team holds the record for the highest total at the Perth Stadium in Test cricket. During the first Test of West Indies�tour of Australia in 2022, the hosts posted the highest total of 598/4d in their first innings at this venue. Electing to bat first, the Pat Cummins-led Australia rode on double hundreds from Marnus Labuschagne (204) and Steve Smith (200 not out) to register a mammoth total on the board. With the help of their first innings total, Australia later won the Test by 164 runs.

Lowest total

The India national cricket team recorded the lowest total at the Perth Stadium in Tests. Chasing 287 in the fourth innings, India were bowled out for 140 in 56 overs against Australia in the second Test of a four-match series in December 2018. Captain Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant top-scored for India with 30 each in the final innings of the contest. For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon scalped three wickets each. Earlier, Australia posted 326 in their first innings after opting to bat first. While India managed 283 in their first innings, the hosts scored 243 in their second innings to set-up a target of 287. Australia won the Perth Test by 146 runs

Most runs

Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne has scored the most runs at this ground in cricket’s longest format. The right-handed batter has accumulated 501 runs in four Test innings at a staggering average of 167. Labuschagne has also slammed three hundreds and one fifty at this venue in Test cricket. His highest Test score of 204 at the Perth Stadium came against West Indies in 2022.

Most wickets

Australia cricketer Nathan Lyon holds the record for the most wickets at the Perth Stadium in Test cricket. Between 2018 and 2022, the right-arm off-spinner has already bagged 22 wickets in three matches at an average of 18.45. He has one four-wicket haul and two fifers at this venue in Tests. Compatriot Mitchell Starc features second on the list with 18 wickets in three Tests.

Highest individual score

Marnus Labuschagne also registered the highest individual score at the Perth Stadium in Tests. Batting at number three, Marnus Labuschagne scored 204 off 350 balls against West Indies in the first innings of the opening Test of West Indies�tour of Australia in 2022. His magnificent double century was laced with 20 fours and one six to help Australia post 598/4d. Australia won the Test by 164 runs.

Best bowling figures in an innings

India fast bowler Mohammed Shami recorded the best bowling figures in an innings of a Test at this venue in 2018. The right-arm pacer registered brilliant figures of 6/56 to help bowl out Australia for 243 in their second innings. Despite Mohammed Shami’s impressive spell, Australia won the Test by a huge 146 runs to level the series 1-1. The four-match Test series ended 2-1 in favour of India.

Best bowling figures in a match

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc holds the record for the best bowling figures in a Test match at the Perth Stadium. The left-arm fast bowler took nine wickets during the first Test of New Zealand’s tour of Australia in 2019. While Starc scalped five wickets for 52 runs in the first innings, he claimed four wickets for just 45 runs in the second innings. Starc’s bowling performance powered Australia to a 296-run victory.

Highest partnership

Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith recorded the highest partnership at this ground in Test cricket. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith forged a massive 251-run stand for the third wicket in the first innings of the first Test against West Indies in 2022. Labuschagne scored 204 while Smith remained unbeaten on 200. Australia won the Test by 164 runs.

Photo credit: Alamy

After Ravichandran Ashwin hit back at the critics for abating the ongoing controversy behind the pitch of the pink-ball Test in Motera Stadium, Australia’s Nathan Lyon came out in support of the venue, stating ‘everyone in the world seems to start crying�when the ball starts spinning.�/span>

A host of former England cricketers, such as Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen, have thrown shade on Chennai and Ahmedabad’s pitches, with the latter significantly under question as 30 wickets fell in five sessions in the third Test between India and England.

Earlier, Ashwin responded to a question by a British media member at a conference by a question, saying, “I have a question back. What is a good cricket surface? Who defines it?�While the initial response was, ‘good contest between bat and ball� the off-spinner continued by saying, “Yes, of course. The bowler wants to win the game. The batsman needs to bat well to get runs. There’s absolutely no question about it.�/span>

� �"We have never complained about the pitch in the past."#TeamIndia's ace spinner @ashwinravi99 sets the record straight.@Paytm #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/K2V4OvBQDn

�BCCI (@BCCI) February 27, 2021

“What makes a good surface? Who defines this? Seam on the first day and then bat well and then spin on the last two days? Come on! Who makes all these rules? We need to get over it and not talk about whatever picture you want to paint,�the 34-year-old said.

Lyon, a former pitch curator himself, was pleased with the Motera Stadium's pitch and went on to say that everyone in the world starts to cry when spinners start to get the upper hand in a Test match.

"We play on seaming wickets around the world and get bowled out for 47, 60. Nobody ever says a thing," said Lyon in an interview with the Australian Associated Press.

"But as soon as it starts spinning, everyone in the world seems to start crying about it. I don't get it. I'm all for it, it was entertaining.�/span>

The 33-year-old also showered praise on the curator of the Ahmedabad Test’s pitch, candidly stating that he would love to take him to the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

"I was up all night watching it. It was absolutely brilliant. I'm thinking about bringing that curator out to the SCG," he added.

India leads the four-Test series against England with a 2-1 margin, and the teams reconvene for the final Test on March 4, at the same venue.

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Patrick Hamilton

Cricketing giants India and Australia will square off against each other in one of the fiercest cricketing rivalries - the Border-Gavaskar Trophy - starting from December 17. One of the most anticipated Test series, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has duly been a bystander to some breathtaking performances over the years, be it on an individual ground or even a collective effort.

For India, it gives them the opportunity to do the unthinkable, as none of the two teams have won the trophy three times in a row. For the Aussies, their honour is at stake after losing the Test series in 2018 at home.

I, for one, have rightly enjoyed my participation in the historic series, but it’s time to look at what lies ahead.

So here are two players from each team who I think will be in the spotlight during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar series.

Virat Kohli 

Captain Virat Kohli has had a quiet year so far, but as he prepares himself for his final game of 2020, I reckon we are on the verge of something special. The Adelaide Oval has always been Virat’s hunting ground and the fact that he has scored three centuries at the venue (more than any other venue in Australia) further outlines why Australia can have trouble in getting him out. Apart from Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins, not many of the current Australian bowlers have had much success against the Indian skipper, and it would be interesting to see how the Aussies lay their gameplan. 

Steve Smith

Steve Smith is the highest run-scorer for Australia (from the current squad) in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and since marking his comeback in 2019, the former captain has accumulated 1028 runs at the average of 73.43, including three centuries and five fifties from nine Tests. Smith just loves troubling the Indian bowling line-up. The last time he squared off against Kohli’s men in a Test series at home (2014-15), he had garnered 769 runs at an average of 128.16. Needless to say, he will be Australia’s biggest weapon.

Cheteshwar Pujara

It’s hard to find a suitable adjective for a stout Cheteshwar Pujara. For someone who played more than 1000 deliveries against Australia at their own turf last time out (2018-19), I feel Australia captain Tim Paine needs to work on his strategies. One just cannot afford to give Pujara enough room to get into his groove, because let’s face it, once he gets into the zone, you need a miracle ball to send him back to the pavilion.

Nathan Lyon

Nathan Lyon has a fabulous record against the Indian batsmen. He is, in fact, the only Australian bowler to dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara at Adelaide in Tests. He might leak runs in the process but he has time and again given his team important breakthroughs. What further outlines his importance is his numbers against the Indian captain, Virat Kohli, who he has dismissed seven times in Test cricket - more than any other bowler. Hence, it comes as no surprise that he has been given more opportunity to bowl against Kohli as compared to other bowlers.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / William West

The historic Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on December 17 when India will lock horns with Australia in the first of the four-Test match series at the Adelaide Oval.

There have been several developments in both the team squads since India’s 2-1 win in the T20I series. 

Opener Rohit Sharma has passed the fitness test after missing both the white-ball series and is set to join the rest of the India squad in Australia. For the hosts, pacer Mitchell Starc is roaring to make a comeback, while all-rounder Moises Henriques has been added to the squad in place of Sean Abbott.

India vs Australia head to head count in Test matches dominantly favours the latter, who have won a whopping 42 of the 98 Tests played between the teams. Furthermore, while India have been strong in the shortest format, they come into this Test series at the back of two consecutive Test defeats against New Zealand. The Aussies, on their part, have won all of their last five Tests.

So with the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy a few days away, we take a look at some crucial preemptive stats:

Cheteshwar Pujara’s early struggle

Top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara played over 1000 Test deliveries when India had toured Australia in 2018-19, which had prompted Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon to ask  him, “Aren’t you bored of batting now?�/span>

Pujara has been one of India’s cornerstones in Test cricket and while his record in Australia is impressive, to say the least, his evident struggle against pacers early on in his innings isn’t hidden. Here is a detailed comparison of his Test innings in Australia:

Cheteshwar Pujara's Test comparison in Australia
0-30 Runs	Metrics	31-200 Runs
5	Mat	5
7	Innings	6
6	Dismissed by pacer	2
1	Dismissed by spinner	3
0	Run out	1

Pujara has always owned the Adelaide turf. The 32-year-old has scored 288 runs at the venue, which translates to almost 40% of his total Test runs (722) in Australia. Only Nathan Lyon has managed to dismiss Pujara at the venue in the format. On the contrary, the 32-year-old has scored most of his runs (97) against the spinner itself.

Quick stat: Pujara has never been dismissed by any pacer at Adelaide.

Adelaide Oval - Winning here matters

Adelaide Oval has hosted 156 Test matches in its 136-year history. The venue has a vivid history, as it has hosted 11 first matches of the series and interestingly, the winner of that game has gone on to clinch the series.

Match & Series results whenever Adelaide hosted 1st Test of a series
Match Date	Result	Opposition	Series Winner
12 December 1884	AUS lost by 8 wickets	v England	England (3-2)
12 December 1930	AUS won by 10 wickets	v West Indies	Australia (4-1)
23 December 1967	AUS won by 146 runs	v India	Australia (4-0)
22 December 1972	AUS won by inns & 114 runs	v Pakistan	Australia (3-0)
24 December 1976	Match Drawn	v Pakistan	Drawn (1-1)
26 January 1980	AUS lost by 408 runs	v West Indies	West Indies (2-0)
13 December 1985	Match Drawn	v India	Drawn (0-0)
10 December 1999	AUS won by 285 runs	v India	Australia (3-0)
14 December 2001	AUS won by 246 runs	v South Africa	Australia (3-0)
09 December 2014	AUS won by 48 runs	v India	Australia (2-1)
06 December 2018	AUS lost by 31 runs	v India	India (2-1)

India have played 12 Test matches at this venue, winning just twice and losing on seven occasions. Things, however, will be different on Thursday’s Day-night Test match as Australia remain the most experienced and successful team in it. They have won all of their seven Day-Night Tests matches. 

The venue, though, has been nothing but a boon for Australia as they have lost 18 Tests at Adelaide in 18 different series. Of those 18 series, they have lost 11 series, drawn three and won only four.

All eye on Virat Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli will be playing his final game of 2020 before he travels back to India for personal reasons. So far this year, Kohli has played just two Test matches and has scored a mere 38 runs at an average of 9.50 and a strike rate of 40. The captain has, in fact, crossed the 50-run mark just once in the first game of his last five-Test series.

Kohli in the 1st match of the Test series (last 5 series)
Opposition	1st Inns	2nd Inns	Total	Venue
v NZ	2	19	21	Wellington
v BAN	0	-	0	Indore
v SA	20	31*	51	Visakhapatnam
v WI	9	51	60	North Sound
v AUS	3	34	37	Adelaide

The captain’s record at the Adelaide Oval, however, is something that he will look forward to. In six innings at the venue, the top-order batsman has scored 431 runs at an average of 71.83. Furthermore, of his six centuries against Australia, three have come at this venue.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Saeed Khan

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon has been added in Australia's T20I squad for the India series as a replacement of injured Ashton Agar. In other developments, Cameron Green has been released from the team to play for Australia A's three-day tour game against India, to be played at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Furthermore, the Australia cricket team is currently sweating on the fitness of their captain Aaron Finch as they await the scan results of his hip injury, which he picked during the 1st T20I at the Manuka Oval. If the Australian captain is indeed ruled out, it remains to be seen who will take the leadership role as vice-captain Pat Cummins was rested in the first T20I, and Matthew Wade was named as Finch's deputy in the game.

There is, however, no shortage of leaders in the Australia team. It is said that Steve Smith might be recalled as a captain. But if that is not the case, all-rounder Moises Henriques has a leadership experience with New South Wales and the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League. Glenn Maxwell too has captained Melbourne Stars in the T20 tournament.

As far as Lyon is concerned, he hasn't played a T20I game since October 2018. In fact, his last international action came against New Zealand in a Test series in January 2020. The Aussies went with the likes of Mitchell Swepson and Adam Zampa as their spinning contingent in the 1st T20I against India.

India vs Australia 2nd T20I will be played at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground on December 6.

India vs Australia T20I squad:

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, D’Arcy Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa

India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Mahmoud Khaled

A few days ago, news emerged that four-day Tests could become mandatory from the 2023 World Test Championship with boards finding ways to squeeze in less Test cricket days in the calendar while bringing back drawn Test matches, a rather rare phenomenon now.  

There is more demand than ever for franchise tournament windows for the ICC while the Indian T20 League occupies another large chunk of the calendar. The costs involved in staging Test series is another factor that's involved in this decision.

It has evoked mixed reactions from players so far with Joe Root and Jos Buttler stating that boards should be "open-minded". Vernon Philander and Nathan Lyon have completely gone against the idea but the big call came from Virat Kohli on Saturday when he declared he wasn't a fan of four-day Tests.

"I don't think that's fair to the purest format of the game - how cricket started initially and five-day Test matches was the highest of tests you can have at the international level. According to me, it shouldn't be altered," Kohli said.

Now, Kohli's opinion is more important than the rest because BCCI is likely to be in sync with the same and the board contributes to a lot of ICC's revenue. As such going against BCCI would be a hard, arduous task for ICC if they plan to implement four-day Tests as a mandate starting 2023.

The pro

The obvious pro for four-day Tests is money. Yes, there's an additional loss of a day but it only frees up the calendar for more limited-overs games where boards make most of their money. The second boon is bringing drawn Tests back into the equation. Draws without poor weather is rare these days and with Tests cut by a day, there could be more exciting results with a third result - other than a win and a loss - coming into play.

The cons

The cons, though, outweigh the pros. The over-rates are pretty poor in Test cricket of late and unless that is addressed on a more stringent basis, we may not actually get enough overs in there to force a result within four days, thereby making Test cricket boring again.

Even with the penalty imposed on teams for over-rates in the World Test Championship, there is unlikely to be an improvement in over-rates seeing how it goes now. 100 overs a day in a Test match seems nigh impossible at the moment.

The weather could be a big deciding factor if we do go to four-day Tests as one washed out day means we have just three remaining days to force a result. Even intermittent showers could threaten the possibility of a result and bring draws into the picture in matches where results are quite plausible.

With two big decisive factors going against four-day Tests, the idea seems largely off target and going down that path is only likely to create more questions regarding the existence of Test cricket.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Noah Seelam

Nathan Lyon has insisted crowd taunts had no effect as he bounced back from the disappointment of a major error to help Australia retain the Ashes.

The off-spinner, a key figure in Australia's 251-run win in the first Test at Edgbaston, found himself routinely mocked on social media and in person after he missed a chance to run out last man Jack Leach before England completed a dramatic one-wicket victory in the third Test at Headingley.

That result left the Ashes all square at 1-1, with Lyon on the receiving end of ironic cheers every time he gathered the ball cleanly during the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

But Australia's 185-run success in Manchester completed Sunday meant they kept hold of the Ashes at 2-1 up in a five-Test series ahead of this week's finale at the Oval in south London.

The 31-year-old Lyon did not seem that impressed with the taunts at the time but, speaking to travelling Australian media, he said: "To be honest with you, you hear it for the first over or two then it just becomes white noise.

"When you're a professional sportsman, your job is to come out and bowl well, and compete against whoever you're playing," added Lyon, Australia's third-most successful all-time Test bowler with 359 wickets in 90 matches. 

"I didn't really feel it or hear it at the back end, so it doesn't worry me."

Australia will win their first Ashes series in England for 18 years if they avoid defeat at the Oval, with Lyon saying: "Right now, it probably hasn't sunk in, but as a kid growing up, and as soon as I got my Baggy Green (Australian cap), the biggest goal in my career has been to win the Ashes away.

"We're 2-1 up and I want to go 3-1 up, and when we hold the urn up at The Oval it's going to be an amazing feeling."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Oli Scarff

Australia captain Tim Paine on Monday hailed Steve Smith as "probably the best Test batsman we've ever seen" after his man-of-the-match performance in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

The tourists beat England by 251 runs to win the first game of the five-match series.

England, who were set an imposing target of 398 to win, collapsed to 97-7 in the post-lunch session on the fifth and final day before being bowled out for 146.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon took 6-49 and fast bowler Pat Cummins took 4-32 as Australia enjoyed their first win in all formats at Edgbaston since 2001 - the last time they won an Ashes series in England.

The match was a personal triumph for Australia's Steve Smith, who in his first Test since a 12-month ban for his role in a ball-tampering scandal, scored 144 and 142.

Smith was the hero for Australia as they battled back from 122-8 in the first innings.

"I thought we were certainly up against it at that stage but we had the best player in the world at the crease," said Paine.

"Steve showed his class in both innings. We're running out of things to say about Smithy. He's probably the best Test batsman we've ever seen. We're lucky to witness it.

"Nathan bowled superbly but our three quicks took a lot of pressure off him at the other end as well. The seamers were sensational.

"We thought we could improve on our first-innings performance with the ball. All those guys are world-class performers. This morning all four of them were sensational.

"We know every Test we play in England, the crowd will be against us. I thought the guys handled themselves really well and we've come out on top."

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Lindsey Parnaby