Women's Tests Should Be Of Five Days To Get A Result: Australian Coach

The one-off pink-ball women's Test between India and Australia, which ended in a draw with the tourists holding the upper hand, has once again sparked the debate on whether women's Tests should be made a five-day affair to make them more result-oriented.

India women dominated the D/N Test and would have earned a historic win had it been a five-day affair.

Australia just about avoided follow-on on Day 4 before declaring 136 runs behind India's first-innings score of 377/8. India then played 35 overs in the second innings before declaring after tea to set Australia an improbable 272-run target in 32 overs.

Chasing 272 runs in the final session of the final day, Australia were 36 for two in 15 overs before players of both teams shook hands and settled for a draw. Inclement weather on the first two days also played a role in denying India victory, with 100 overs being lost.

After an eventful fourth day involving a couple of sporting declarations, Australia head coach Matthew Mott has called for an extra day of play in women's Tests.

"The five days for me is ideal... the last couple of Tests we've lost a full day of cricket so essentially you're playing a 3-day game on a surface that doesn't have any wear and tear. It is difficult. If this game had gone another day, I think we would've seen a very good Test match," Motts said in the post-match press conference on Sunday.

Mott also mentioned that inclement weather was inevitable at this time of the year in Queensland, and a little more time in the game would've benefited everyone.

"I do think inevitably at this time of the year in Queensland there's a big chance of losing some time to rain. In women's cricket, we probably don't get enough wear and tear on the wicket as our male counterparts. So it's a bit of a different game from that perspective, the spinners can't get as much into the footmarks," said Australia head coach.

"A little bit more time in the game would certainly help everyone. And I think if we're going to devote that time to it, I don't think it is a lot to ask for one extra day," he added.

Earlier, India's one-off women's Test against England in June, which was also rain-affected, had also ended in a draw.

Speaking after that game, Australia women's captain Meg Lanning had said the current system of four-day Tests for women lessens the possibility of an outright result especially if the weather plays spoilsport.

"I think it probably makes sense to take it out to five days, we saw in the last two, the Test match we played against England and the one just recently with England and India that there was a little bit of rain around and once that happens, it makes it pretty difficult to to get a result.

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"So I think pushing out the five days makes a lot of sense and I think you will get more results and then teams pushing for that," Lanning had said.