ICC to Overhaul Test Match Cricket
Test Match cricket to be revamped from 2019
SteemSports Presenter: @mojorisin
SteemSports Editor: @ldauch
After years of negotiations and false beginnings, International cricket is set to change dramatically. The ICC have met to discuss the possibility a Test world championship and a separate league for one-day cricket.
From 2019, a nine team Test Championship will be played over two years. All the details aren't clarified as yet. The fixtures and points system are still to be decided but it’s thought that teams will play six series over a two-year period with three at home and three away, with the championship culminating at the final showdown at Lord’s between the leading two nations in 2021.
Test cricket will see a new championship format
In a further shake up to Test cricket, the ICC gave the go ahead to trial four-day Test matches. Although the Test championship will remain a five-day game for the inaugural championship tournamnet from 2019-21.
“Bringing context to bilateral cricket is not a new challenge, but this is the first time a genuine solution has been agreed on," said Shashank Manohar, the ICC chairman. “This means fans around the world can enjoy international cricket knowing every game counts and in the case of the ODI league, it counts towards qualification to the World Cup.”
One-day cricket will also be given a new lease of life
What’s more, a revamp of the current one-day system has been agreed upon. As has been typical since its inception, touring teams play a 3-5 match one-day series, but this system now seems like it will be a thing of the past. A 13 team one-day league will start in 2020, which will be used as qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup.
With Ireland and Afghanistan now full member nations it has been decided that the current system is outdated and a league system where the so called ‘lesser’ nations play the top tier nations more often. All the 12 full member nations will make up the league with the winner of the World Cricket League joining to make the 13.
Ireland and Afghanistan have been given full Test status
The ICC has tried and failed many times in the past to establish a World Test Championship, but with a lack of interest from broadcasters the idea had always been just that.
However, with the rise of Twenty20 cricket and how it has taken over Test cricket in not only broadcasting deals, but also the amount of supporters that actually go to the games, it was decided that something had to be done to preserve what the purists believe to be real cricket.
Twenty20 format has really taken off with the IPL in India
Test cricket is, for me, the finest form of cricket. I enjoy the new T20 format, but in that it's a short sprint to score as many runs as possible. Test match is different. It’s not just a game of hit-and-hope. Test cricket is of course outscoring your opponent, but it’s much more than that.
It's not just about endurance either, it's a battle of wills. It pushes people to the limit and tests them for mental strength and character. Like a slowly-actualizing plot of a well-paced thriller, a good Test sucks you in, chapter by chapter, session by session, until you’re left in a state of not knowing what to do until the following day's play. ANd that is something all the hurrah of T20 will never be able to produce.
The end of a day's play at Lord's
But there are some boring Test matches, for sure. There are some boring football and rugby matches, too. Some people say the five-day format is too long and so the ICC have decided to experiment with four-day Tests. The first Tests will begin on Boxing Day when South Africa play Zimbabwe, so it will be interesting to see if it retains the essence of a Test, while at the same time speeding up the play.
Chief Executive of the ICC David Richardson said, “Four-day Tests will provide the new Test playing countries with more opportunities to play the longer version of the game against more experienced opponents, which, in turn, will help them to hone their skills and close the gap with the top nine-ranked teams.”
Chief Executive of the ICC David Richardson
“The playing structures have been worked on ever since I can remember, trying to find a way of bringing more context and meaning to bilateral cricket over and above a ranking system and a series win. It is a very important decision for cricket. Across all formats, series will have more context and hopefully more value. The primacy of international cricket will be sustained going forward.”
Ian Botham in The Ashes at Headingley 1981
The revamp will anger some of the purists, but the ICC believe change is needed to keep up with T20 cricket. With the success of the IPL and other T20 competitions, England, the home of cricket, has decided to follow suit or get left behind. From 2020, the England & Wales Cricket Board will launch its own new Twenty20 competition, which is believed to be using city teams like Leeds and Manchester, which is a big move away from the traditional use of counties like Yorkshire and Lancashire.
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We barely see Cricket news here on Steemit. Thanks for sharing this @steemsports.
I will be writing more, for sure. Follow me @mojorisin and you will catch it all.
Awesome post and great post.