The ICC meet has taken up the proposal of a Test championship played over three years in an attempt to save the future of international cricket which is facing its biggest threat from Twenty20 leagues.
The proposal has the backing of England, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa but is hitting a wall of resistance from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Indian opposition is mainly centred around the reorganisation of the ICC’s financial structure, rather than the changes to international cricket.
However, the ICC cannot afford more dithering, with the number of Twenty20 leagues on the rise. The English County Board has already voted on the proposal to start a T20 league and the result will be known on Wednesday. “This is a crucial time for decision-making at the ICC,” Tony Irish, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, said.
English cricket has been somewhat isolated from the problems hitting Test cricket around the world. Test matches in England still attract healthy crowds. But elsewhere around the world Test crowds are waning and, in some countries, players are prioritising Twenty20 leagues over international cricket because that is where they can earn more money.
“For the whole game to flourish, the ICC must a find a way for international cricket and the leagues to co-exist in a coherent overall structure,” said Irish. “With the right collective will this is possible. The time for it is now, he said.”
