adminDUBAI. — David Richardson, chief executive of the International Cricket Council, has revealed that there could be two divisions in Test cricket from 2019.
He was concerned that Zimbabwe hardly plays Test cricket today.
Amid growing concerns over the future of the format, Richardson, while promoting the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy on Wednesday, admitted that having a promotion and relegation system in Tests could give meaning to the format.
“There’s a general realisation now that, if we’re going to keep Test cricket going well into the future, we can’t just say it’s going to survive on its own,” Richardson said.
“Unless we can give some meaning to these series beyond the rankings and a trophy, then interest in Test cricket will continue to waiver. The same applies if we allow uncompetitive Test cricket to take place too often.
“If we really want Test cricket to survive, we can’t have the number of Test teams diminishing. We have to create a proper competition structure which provides promotion and relegation and opportunities to get to the top,” he added.
“A number of member countries are finding that they’re not getting as much from their TV rights for bilateral cricket and they see the need to change and introduce some meaningful context.
“The beauty of leagues is that, in theory, you will have a more competitive competition and teams playing each other that are of a more equal standard.
“They will all be striving for something. There’s something at stake. They will be thinking ‘We could end up in the Intercontinental Cup if we’re not careful here.’ Hopefully, that will inspire performance and make the matches more competitive.”
Richardson revealed that the new structure could see seven teams in the first division and five in the second, with one team from the second getting promoted and the bottom team from the first division getting relegated in a two-year cycle.
“The feeling is that if you want to sustain interest in a competition, you probably can’t go longer than two years with it,” Richardson said.
“If you had a top division of seven teams, you’d have six tours – three home, three away – over a two-year period. It works well mathematically.
“We could probably make it work in 2019 because hopefully whatever we implement will be better than the current arrangement. It’s the sooner the better as far as we’re concerned. We might need to have some negotiations with broadcasters who have deals in place, but they might be willing to change. This is a marvellous opportunity for the game.”
Richardson also revealed that Shashank Manohar, the new ICC Chairman, is ensuring to provide more opportunities to all 106 members so that one day they can all play Twenty20 Internationals.
“The new chairman has gone out of his way to reverse the sense that the ‘Big Three’ are in control,” Richardson said. ”— CricBuzz.
Online Reporter