Day-night Test cricket is coming. In November Australia will play New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in front of 60,000 people.
Although there are reservations about this new phase of Test cricket it is the facelift that Test cricket had to have. Although players are not keen to play with the pink Kookaburra these reservations are falling on deaf ears. The national boards will apply the ‘next man up’ philosophy and pick someone who does want to play.
I see this revolution of Test cricket resulting in more than dollar signs and massive TV audiences, I see the very real possibility of a Test World Championship.
There are many questions to raise about such a concept and I will run through my blueprint below.
How long will it run for?
I feel that it would run for the same time as a One-Day World Cup.
How many teams?
The top four teams in the world rankings qualify automatically with the rest playing for the remaining four spots at the World Cup.
So South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India would be automatic qualifiers.
Then England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe as well as two associates (Ireland, Afghanistan) would head into a qualifying tournament.
This will leave two groups of four consisting of two automatic qualifiers and two non-automatic qualifiers with each team playing each other once.
The groups could look something like the following.
Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies
Group B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland
Now how does day-night Test cricket have to do with this? Well, it would genuinely make this easier to run.
For example if a game between Australia and India was starting at 10am they could play the Pakistan-West Indies game starting at 2:30pm to help accommodate the TV audience.
The top two then qualify for the semi-finals and then the final.
What do you think, Roarers, could we see a Test World Cup in the future?
Timmuh
Roar Guru
I don't think a World Cup, as such, would add much to Test cricket. A Championship of some sort, based on series home and away over a number of years - and then a five Test series for a final - would give meaning to the rankings and add a definitive champion element. Tests have always been about series (one off and two Test series always lack something). A single match as a final opens up all sorts of issues with draws, acclimatisation, etc. I've proposed for many years that a points system be put in place which encourages every team to play all others. A series draw would be 5 points, a series win 9 points + 1 point for each match in the winning margin. So, a 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2 win would be worth 10 points and a 5-0 win worth 14. Dominating long series would be rewarded. Only the most recent series would be counted (each home and away), but if no series had taken place in the previous 4 years the point would have expired. Ideally there would be 3 Test semi-final series and then the 5 Test final, but weather in various parts of the world makes that unworkable. No other internationals or domestic T20 would be allowed on days when a match of the final is on (absolute pipe dream that). As well as adding a meaning to the rankings, it also makes them much easier to calculate.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
The FTP has never been anything more than a guide. After the BCCI/CA/ECB takeover it is utterly irrelevant.
Blake Standfield
Roar Guru
Am I the only person who thinks test cricket is fine how it is. All series have their own history, relevance, subplots. Any ranking system is compromised by frequency, location etc. Just ignore them. And a tournament won't clarify anything as location will be too big a factor. I enjoy speculating on who is really the number one side at any given time and unless one team is head and shoulders above there's probably no real answer.
Brian
Guest
That's the main problem. My only solutions is that in the semis the higher ranked team from the group stage goes through if its a draw, then the Final could be a timeless Test.
CG2430
Guest
What about draws in the semifinals and/or final? I'd like Test Cricket to have a proper tournament akin to a World Cup, but I don't see it as being at all feasible.
CW
Guest
Idea has merit. Was a world test championship planned and then scrapped. Why? Would the ICC be bothered to re-explore the idea. They should. We hold world cups for the shorter formats of our game. Why not tests. The purest form of cricket. I personally would prefer to see something far fairer than is presently done to determine world #1 rankings. I want to see the ludicrous situation where say Australia defeat Sth Africa and India ..two of the three top sides. But because say Sth Africa have wracked up points with wins over minnows like Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. They remain no 1. Each side should play each other at least once before rankings are finalised.
Joey Johns
Roar Guru
Firstly, Adelaide holds 53,500 for an AFL match And you lose at least 2-4,000 capacity due to sight screens at either end. Adelaide will never host anything cricket related above 50, let alone 60
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
I think it would potentially run too long. Gaps in the schedule are likely to appear when a team wins in under 5 days. There should though be a system where everyone plays everyone and there is a points table, could run over more than a season. Do we really need the Ashes every year?
UncleRon
Guest
here's why not ben www.cricschedule.com/ftp.php