The solution to diluted T20 scheduling, withering ODI popularity and countries paying lip service to Test cricket

Dear ICC,

Don’t worry guys. I’ve got it sorted. Given that everyone is currently offering their two cents worth talking about the future of cricket. I know you are keen to hear what I think.

With all this chat about the death (the rebirth) of Test cricket, the explosion of T20 and the hugely (ahem, aside from the crowds) successful ODI World Cups, you must be pretty stressed right now.

But I’m here for you. And with much fanfare, I present to you my ‘Plan for Saving Cricket’.

Current situation

Currently, there is a glut of cricket being played all year and all over the world in multiple different formats. That is great! It means lots of eyeballs on cricket which of course means lots of money. And who doesn’t love money – am I right? But this is a double-edged sword. Each format – whilst increasing cricket’s fan base- causes friction with the other formats. Furthermore, with an ever-increasing number of T20 leagues, the best talent isn’t necessarily available for international cricket (case in point: South Africa’s last Test tour of Australia).

Fixturing

The bull in the china shop is T20 professional leagues. It’s fun, it’s lucrative and it’s worth (currently) a boat-load of money. Everyone wants a piece of it.

So why don’t we just let everyone have a T20 league like football/ soccer? I’ll tell you why. There is a bazillion soccer players, and – despite the size of India- there are not enough cricket players to sustain these tournaments, if they were all played at the same time.

Therefore ICC, you need to crack heads. Call your mates across at the BCCI and get them to don their most shiny steel-capped Blunnies. Obviously, the IPL is the big cheese and has primacy. All other leagues – in nations that can support them – need to work around them and not compete with each other. There needs to be better and easier movement between leagues. The BBL has not had a quality T20 player from India in – like – ever?

International cricket

International cricket is still the bedrock of cricket as it should be. As such it needs to be appropriately remunerated to ensure the best players still play for their countries. Stump up some cash!

Currently there are 20 members of the ICC. These range from India on top of the pile, right down to (no offence) Nepal.

I propose a five division international competition, with each division having four teams. Teams must commit to playing a home and away series against each other over a two year period. The bottom team of each division would then play off against the top side of the lower division in a playoff. You could sell the rights to host this if you want? Saudi petrodollars anyone?

Now this is where we get real. Women’s cricket has been featuring hybrid series forever. And it works. Men should do the same. It’s time.

For division one and two, each series must consist of at least three Tests, and four T20s. I’ll let you work out the scoring system, but make sure you put some bonuses in for winning away from home, run rates, innings wins, etc.

Ok. Before you say it, I know, I know – “the Ashes is a five Test series?”; “Isn’t the current Border-Gavaskar series on track to break all known attendance records?”; “What if England/India and Australia are in different divisions?”.

Yes, these series are transcendent – like the Lions rugby tours (and these make even less sense). If a country with legacy series (like England and Australia) want to play five tests, then so be it.

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What about the lower division? Surely a Test match between China and Nepal is pointless? Well maybe. Maybe the longest form of the game for lower divisions is ODI. Maybe you don’t play Tests until you get to division three. Up to you guys- I can’t be the one to come up with all the ideas here!

ODI

Where does the OG limited form of the game fit in here? Anyone – especially Australians – who watched the last World Cup will tell you what a cracking tournament it was. There is still plenty of life in the old girl yet. Yet its popularity is arguably worse than Test cricket, as it seems to struggle for purpose outside of WC years.

Here we need to take a leaf out of (take a big breath here) the FIFA playbook. ODIs should be played as a series of World Cup qualifiers. This could be played all year round. Even in Australia, we could play a home series in winter, if we were prepared to play in the northern states.

The globe could be divided into regions, e.g., Europe; Africa; Asia; Americas. Each region would have a certain number of spots that are automatic qualifiers for the World Cup. Obviously, Asia would have more spots than the Americas. You could still have a play-in tournament for the team just finishing outside the automatic spots. You could even have regional championships on alternate years, like the European Cup. How does an Asian Cricket Championship (with the final in Neom) sound? I tell you what it sounds like – more money!

So what do you think? Pretty good huh. Now give me a call and I can tell you how I would “fix” the Test cricket format…