ICC to set up test, ODI league, says Lorgat
Restructuring international cricket is a significant strategic challenge and one that must be dealt with: Haroon Lorgat.—AFP photo
DUBAI: The first world champion in test cricket will be crowned in 2013. The International Cricket Council board agreed on Wednesday to set up a test league —along with a one-day international league —to try and boost interest.The test league will start almost immediately and culminate in a four-team playoff in 2013 at a site to be named.
The final four will be decided by the ICC world rankings in place already. No new tests will be added but all 10 teams must play one another either home or away.
Test cricket has no definitive championship, so results are often viewed in isolation and without an overall context.
India leads the nine-team rankings, followed by South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand and Bangladesh. Zimbabwe will return to test status in May.
Tests are still regarded as the barometer of an international cricketer's career, but the popularity of the five-day games has dropped with the rise of the hours-long Twenty20 game.
''Restructuring international cricket is a significant strategic challenge and one that must be dealt with,'' ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
''We have now agreed in principle to exciting and far reaching proposals to tackle this most important issue.''
The final four will be decided by the ICC world rankings in place already. No new tests will be added but all 10 teams must play one another either home or away.
Test cricket has no definitive championship, so results are often viewed in isolation and without an overall context.
India leads the nine-team rankings, followed by South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand and Bangladesh. Zimbabwe will return to test status in May.
Tests are still regarded as the barometer of an international cricketer's career, but the popularity of the five-day games has dropped with the rise of the hours-long Twenty20 game.
''Restructuring international cricket is a significant strategic challenge and one that must be dealt with,'' ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
''We have now agreed in principle to exciting and far reaching proposals to tackle this most important issue.''