International Cricket Poised For MAJOR Overhaul

This changes EVERYTHING.


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International cricket is set for a major and radical overhaul.

The ICC has confirmed an in-principle agreement that will see more teams, more fixtures and more structure.

What now looms is the introduction of a Test league, the first of its kind and perhaps the most radical change ever seen in international cricket.

The top nine Test nations will all play a series against each other, home and away, every two years, with a points system in place.

At the end of those two years the top two teams will play off against each other.

If two teams refuse to play each other - like India and Pakistan - they will forfeit points, as a motive to ensure everyone plays everyone.

Three remaining teams - most likely Afghanistan and Ireland - will also be introduced to the Test cricket mix, as well as Zimbabwe.

These three teams will be guaranteed a consistent schedule of Test cricket against the other nine nations, with their performances will be reviewed over a four-year cycle.

Full members can still structure a Test series outside this framework.

ODI cricket will also see a similar model in place on a three-year cycle with more teams and a minimum of 12 matches per team per year - including for sides like Afghanistan and Ireland.

It will lead into qualification for a ten-team World Cup in 2023.

With it comes a new and more equitable financial model that will aim to lessen the dominance of India, England and Australia - also known as the 'big three'.

It also includes the decision to make DRS use "consistent" across all international cricket.

“The ICC Chief Executives’ Committee has explored a whole range of solutions to the future structure of bilateral cricket ranging from the status quo to two tier leagues and every possible option in-between," ICC chief executive David Richardson said.

"The model the group has agreed on enables us to provide context for all three formats of the game and in the case of the ODI and T20 solutions the approach goes beyond the full Members and aligns bilateral cricket with qualification for ICC events."

5 February 2017




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