Geoffrey Boycott has called for a radical "makeover" of Test cricket if it is to compete with the Twenty20 game.

Legendary former England batsman Boycott believes the International Cricket Council need to act to improve the traditional format of the game, suggesting such measures as reducing Tests to four days, introducing floodlights and using livelier wickets.

Much has been made of the rapid rise of the 20-over format since it was conceived in England, with the lucrative Indian Premier League constantly making headlines since its inception.

And Boycott said in his Daily Telegraph column: "The IPL is a threat for only one reason: because the International Cricket Council have got themselves in such a mess.

"They have put all their effort into expanding the 50-over game, to the extent that there is a glut in the market and both the World Cup and the Champions Trophy are treated as a joke.

"We have seen dozens of attempts to liven up 50-over cricket. Powerplays, substitutes? They keep changing the formula.

"Meanwhile, the ICC have ignored Test cricket - the form that even Andrew Symonds agrees is the pinnacle of the game. All the administrators are trying to do is squeeze Test series into shorter and shorter spaces in the calendar, with fewer warm-up matches and less time for recovery."

He continued: "Tests need a makeover. They should be played over four days, with faster over-rates and more imagination. Bring in floodlights for overseas games, and stop using dead pitches.

"Half the time, these boring strips are designed to make sure that the match doesn't finish in three days and upset the broadcasters. The upshot is that at a time when life is getting faster, and people have less time to spare, Tests are going in the opposite direction."

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