Five things cricket must change by 2025 (but won't)

It was more the premise of it being more convenient to schedule it at a time more commercially viable for both, whereas the Ashes it is impossible to even think about it.

Security in either country would be problematic. But that's not the reason they don't play each other.

Here are a couple of my own. At the end of practically every over there are runners bringing gloves, drinks, tablets and lord knows what else onto the field. So, no need for the 5 to 10 mins drinks break. That saves say 20 mins over a day. Reduce the lunch break to 20 mins, the same as the tea break. Another 20 mins saved. With that extra 40 mins maybe we would get the full 90 overs a day we are promised.

No, it’s all about money and broadcasters won’t have a game finishing at midnight for 95% of Australia I’m sorry life isn’t fair for you in Perth

Suggesting we should schedule times based on what time they end up at in NZ is just silly. Time of play in each country is what it is there and you put up with it. Watching the World Cup or Ashes in England really meant that I could never watch until the end if I was working the next day or had any reason I had to get up, because they finished like 3-4am. That's life with OS tours.

Bad luck. Nobody alters times to make life more convenient for us West Aussies.

Why can't they be played in India?

From an Indian perspective, asking the Indian team to play Pakistan in cricket, is a bit like asking a Western country to remove sanctions on what they consider a rogue nation. The whole point of India's cricket embargo on Pakistan is to deny them financial resources. It is one of the few points of genuine leverage and power India has, despite its much larger size and global imprint. So as much as I would like to see Indo-Pak cricket resume as a cricket fan, for political and strategic reasons I am not in favour of a resumption at this point. I agree wholeheartedly though with point number two. One of the main reasons for the IPL's success has been the dedicated window and the availability of India's best players. I cant imagine Chennai vs Bengaluru without the subtext of Dhoni vs Kohli. People associate far more with marquee players like Kohli, Dhoni, Warner, Sharma, Williamson, Gambhir and Smith than the local franchise. Actual city based loyalties is still a work in progress, will need a generation which has grown up going to IPL games, and will always remain tightly tied with marquee player loyalty in a way.

Number 2 is paramount. But overall it's an enjoyable league who has got a winning formula.

Some things can and should change as suggested. Some should be left alone. Leave 5 day Tests in peace please. The proposal of an annual triangular series between Aus, Eng and India, inviting one other to join on a rotational basis belongs on the scrap heap and Test Championship finals should not default to Lord's but get played in the country finishing in pole position.

Maybe if they started playing cricket they may just stop shooting each other. But more seriously tensions between them over Kashmir are nothing new yet they participated in epic encounters in the past despite this.

If India and Pakistan can't play in Pakistan for safety reason why not have India and Pakistan Test Series in Australia and in England. I have no interest in big bash.

Agree with all, however, I also think there is issues with the schedule of day night tests, especially if we are playing say, the West Indies or NZ in Perth. We already have to stay up till midnight on the east coast, I dare not think how late they would have to stay up.

Mostly good suggestions or neutral at worst with the exception of item 2. BBL is fun and doesnt suffer from not having 11 blokes available (who may or may not be great 20/20 players). In fact the opportunity to see many up and comers is more interesting than seeing test players in hit and giggle.

Some interesting ideas Mitchell, cheers for putting them forward. Number one sounds great, unfortunately they’re still shooting down each other’s fighter jets so I think that might be beyond the control of cricket administrators. Not sure about number two. The Big Bash is a fun sideline but doesn’t really compare to test match cricket IMO. Granted the opposition hasn’t been great this year but they only way that ‘mediocre’ sides get better is by playing quality opposition away from home. It wasn’t that long ago that India were pretty ‘mediocre’ in Australia. If we start picking and choosing who we play based on whether we think they’re good enough we come across as pretty arrogant I would have thought.

I agree that I would love Pakistan and India to again be playing test cricket, and that would do much to relieve the tensions between the two countries and uplift Pakistan's cricketing standard again. But the Samjhauta Express bombing and the Mumbai attack in 2007 and 2008 have no doubt left a nasty taste on both country's mouths. It would seem some form of reconciliation and dual condemnation of such heinous religious/political based killings, must be made as well as assurances that those responsible for such attacks in future are severely punished. We don't need such rubbish in cricket, a game designed to form positive social ties between competing nations. India and Pakistan are two of the jewels of International cricket and we need them to reach an amiable position politically

It’s fairly naive of you to compare Eng vs Aus to India vs Pak. They are are still fighting over Kashmir. That won’t change anytime soon. You complain about mediocre test teams and would rather have Australian players in the BBL. The cricketing calendar is just too jam packed, and regardless of what you think with the Test Championship now on the agenda, Test cricket against the lesser nations needs to be played. You want the Test Championship winners to play a three test series against the rest of the World XI??? Where do you propose to play the tests and you’ll need at least 21 days of no cricket by other nations to fit it already in a busy schedule??? Never mind the fact the World XI won’t be a true team, we saw that last time when Australia smashed them. The smartest thing you have said is having more day night cricket. Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth should hold them, keep Melbourne and Sydney as day tests and if teams like India don’t want to play them, don’t invite them. Contrary to popular belief Cricket Aus don’t make a lot of $$$ from India TV coverage. Promoting the game has always been an issue, especially nowadays with so many other forms of entertainment on offer.

There once was a time when our best players were required to play Sheffield Shield. Their test selection depended on it,and the competition thrived.

Re #5: https://www.cricket.com.au/news/cmon-aussie-cmon-reprised-2019-womens-t20-world-cup-lanning-perry-healy-australia/2019-12-26

The India/Pakistan standoff is just another layer on the tragic history of these two nations. Very sad as it is a beautiful common ground. Although to be fair Australia didn't play a test against NZ until 1946 (on a rather too bowler friendly wicket) and not another one until 73/74.