Former England captain Mike Brearley is pleased with the evolution of Test cricket but advocated more changes down the road to keep interest alive in the format.

The oldest form of the game is in the midst of a change with day-night Test making its way and is being played with a pink ball and under lights.

Australia and New Zealand played the first ever day-night Test last at the Adelaide Oval last November and Pakistan and the West Indies are currently engaged in a day-night Test, the first in the UAE and Asia.

And Brearley, who was at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium to watch the proceedings, was all for day-night Tests but also said that there had to be some kind of context to the five-day format.

"I have been in favour of it being tried," Brearley, who is the chairman of the World Cricket Committee at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), said on the advent of day-night Tests.

"Obviously, it had to be worked on first and people had to be persuaded that it is worth trying. It just makes ordinary sense that you can get a lot more people if you are near the centre of a town, in many conditions, if they can come for two sessions, after work or school. It just makes obvious sense and I think it is a good spectacle. Both these matches have had their points and I think it is well worth trying," he added.

Brearley, who played 39 Tests, said that he had foreseen such a scenario, especially after One Day Internationals and T20s came into the picture.

"I did think so. Ever since we started working for it, because I've seen the way in which ODIs and T20s have gone and people play well under lights and the game is just as good under lights as it is in day time. So, I saw no reason why it shouldn't be the same in Test cricket. I'm not a stickler about the colour of cricketers clothing for Test match cricket. I'm more interested in the behaviour of the ball and the ability of people to see it," felt Brearley.

Brearley also felt that there had to be some kind of context to Test cricket and was in favour of a World Test Championship, which has been brought back from the backburner by the ICC.

"A World Test Championship should be a part of this ongoing attempt. The context is another big issue. Trying to get people or the best players playing as much as possible is another thing. Having a World Championship is another factor. There are various things with which one has to work along at the same time, which we have been trying to advocate on the MCC's World Cricket Committee. And this (day-night Tests) seems to be an important improvement to me," he said.

Brearley was not quite sure how Test cricket will pan out from such exercises but said they have to be open to change.

"We don't know where it is going to go. But we have to go into the future, open to change but trying to keep the best of what there is. But I'd say that a Test match is not different from what it was 30 years ago. You still get the ball flying around your ear every now and again, you still get the ball turning as the match goes on and you still get slips at the beginning and defensive fields later on. So, it is still the best test of the range of cricketing skills and temperament and character," Brearley said.

Meanwhile, John Stephenson, Head of Cricket, MCC, was happy with the way it has gone here in Dubai.

"We are still experimenting, to be honest, because a bit of the feedback is about not being able to pick out the seam when the spinners are bowling. I just think it is getting better and better, the lighting has to be really, really good. This game has proved that the ball will wear well in abrasive conditions. The Adelaide pitch was a bit too grassy but it was very good and interesting cricket. I think it is all about the conditions now. The ball is ok, it is the conditions. But we are encouraged that batsmen can score runs with the pink ball and that's a big tick," said Stephenson.

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