ICC’s last-ditch Test bid

The International Cricket Council’s idea to have a world Test championship appears to be the last chance to save international Test cricket, but the plan is set to face some dissenting voices.

The sport’s governing body has been considering a format which will see a series of matches over four years culminating in semi-finals and a final, in the hope that the crowds will be drawn back to the five-day game.

Although several nations are likely to support the idea, the problem facing the ICC is that some cricket boards want to organise their own tours and set firm itineraries well in advance.

The ECB has already expressed some concern even though they like the idea of a Test championship, preferring a different format with either a single Test play-off or a short series to decide the world’s top team.

England officials are worried that a four-year event could devalue series’ such as the Ashes, which always brings full houses in the UK or Australia, and has the best opportunities to place a cricket bet; it could also bring shortened series to accommodate matches against lesser Test nations.

ECB chief executive David Collier said: “The original proposal from ICC, for a two-year cycle with two years of an uncertain fixture programme in regard to the Test Championship, would be detrimental to Test cricket and the ECB's prime consideration is to ensure that Test cricket is at the pinnacle of the world game.”

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has claimed that the only two nations unhappy are England and India, but the problem for the ICC is that they are the two nations that bring the most money into the sport.

The other problem attached to the long-term tournament would be how to fit it into the calendar, especially with the number of lucrative Twenty20 tournaments popping up around the world.