International cricket could soon be revolutionised by a proposal set to go before the ICC board, centred around a two-year Test league and three-year ODI league.
The proposal was developed by the Chief Executive Committee and will be presented to the ICC board either this weekend or at their next meeting in April.
If implemented the proposal would see new structures for Test, ODI and T20 cricket put into place from 2019 onwards.
Test cricket would operate on a two-year cycle with a 9-3 team format – nine full member nations, excluding Zimbabwe, and three others, likely Ireland and Afghanistan in addition to Zimbabwe.
The nine full members would be required to play each other in a Test series at least once over the course of a two-year season, though a ‘series’ could be as little as one match.
Those nations who refuse to play each other in that time would forfeit any points on offer.
There is not yet a system established for how points would be awarded for these matches, as it will need to be designed around the potential for a variety of series lengths.
The nations with the most points at the end of each two-year cycle would then engage in an additional play-off series before a new cycle begins.
Nations would also be expected to reverse the location of matches in each new cycle – if Australia and England play in Australia in one cycle, they must play in England in the next, and so on.
The ‘bottom three’ nations would play each other in Test series throughout the cycle, and each of the top nine would play at least one series against one of the bottom three in each cycle.
Full member nations would still have the opportunity to schedule Test matches outside of this structure, though they wouldn’t count for points within the competition.
The proposal would also see the introduction of a three-year ODI season featuring 13 teams – all ten full member nations, as well as Ireland, Afghanistan, and the winner of the World Cricket League.
Each team would play one series against every other across the course of the three years, and at least 12 ODI matches in any given calendar year.
The top-ranked team at the end of three-year period would receive a reward of some kind, and the top seven sides automatically qualify for the ODI World Cup (alongside the hosts).
The remaining two spots in the World Cup would be awarded to the top two teams from a qualifying event featuring the five remaining teams and several other associate nations.
Further ODI matches could still be scheduled outside of this structure, but would not have an effect on the league rankings or World Cup qualification.
The potential changes to T20 cricket are much less clear, as the debates over when to play the World T20 and the length of a likely cycle for this are still ongoing.
At present, the proposal would see one regional qualification event played in each of the five ICC regions, featuring the full members and top associates.
There does at present appear to be something of a consensus regarding this proposal and we may in time see it implemented, however, there is a lot of detail and negotiation left to emerge before that is likely to occur.
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