Skip to main content
Cricket

Cricket bosses announce Test championship tournament

World cricket's ruling body the International Cricket Council on Friday unveiled a nine nation Test championship. The move comes in a bid to underline the prestige of the five day format following the increasing popularity of the scatter gun Twenty20 matches.

England captain Joe Root could be one of the stars in the new Test championship tournament.
England captain Joe Root could be one of the stars in the new Test championship tournament. Reuters/Lee Smith
Advertising

The Test league was among several reforms agreed at an ICC board meeting in Auckland in New Zealand. Other meansures included a revamp of the the one-day international schedule and experiments with Test matches over four days instead of five.

"Our priority was to develop a structure that gave context and meaning across international cricket and particularly in the Test arena," ICC chief David Richardson said.

The Test league will start in 2019 and involve nine teams playing six series over two years -- three home and three away. It will culminate in a final between the two top teams at Lord's in London.

The ICC has argued for years that a Test championship is needed to boost the format's popularity as crowds and TV viewers flock to the fast-paced, big-hitting Twenty20 version of the game.

A committee was set up in 1998 to examine the concept. But squabbles over formats and fears that some nations would be disadvantaged have twice thwarted efforts to launch a league structure.

"Bringing context to bilateral cricket is not a new challenge, but this is the first time a genuine solution has been agreed on," said ICC chairman Shashank Manohar said.

The nine nations in the competition are Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Indies.

James Sutherland, chief executive of Cricket Australia, described the decision in Auckland as a significant moment in international cricket history. He added: "It's a tremendous step forward. The ICC and member countries have made a strong statement about international cricket and how we want to make sure it remains at the forefront of the three forms of the game."

Purists view the ebbs and flows of a Test match as the languid acme of the sport. But the five day fantasy has struggled to woo the new generations, particularly in Asia, where lucrative T20 competitions such as the Indian Premier League have satisfied the cravings of the short attention spanned modern fan.

A recent innovation designed to reverse the trend is the introduction of day-night Test matches, which moves playing sessions to more spectator friendly hours after dark.

The Auckland meeting also agreed to experiment with Tests over four day. South Africa and Zimbabwe are set to stage the initial match in December.

"Throughout the discussions about the future of Test cricket it became clear we must also consider alternatives and trial initiatives that may support the future viability of Test cricket," said Richardson.

 

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.