New Zealand players arrive for limited overs series
MUMBAI: A batch of New Zealand cricketers arrived for the limited overs tour of India, commencing October 22. Ross Taylor tweeted the news of their arrival, “Nice to be back in India. #jetlagged @ Trident Hotel.” Nine members of the squad had left for India on Thursday while the remaining six will be picked from the A side which is playing limited-overs matches at Visakhapatnam. WELLINGTON: The International Cricket Council unveiled a longawaited, nine-nation Test championship Friday in a bid to preserve the five-day format’s status following the rapid growth of Twenty20.
The Test league was among a raft of reforms agreed at an ICC board meeting in Auckland, including revamping the one-day international schedule and trialling four-day Tests.
“Our priority was to develop (a) structure that gave context and meaning across international cricket and particularly in the Test arena,” ICC chief David Richardson said in a statement.
The Test league will start in 2019 and see nine teams play six series over two years -- three home and three away. It will culminate in a final between the two top teams at Lord’s.
The ICC has argued for years that a Test championship is needed to boost the format’s popularity as crowds and TV viewers flock to the fast-paced, big-hitting Twenty20 version of the game.
It first appointed a committee to examine the concept back in 1998. But squabbling over formats, and fears that some nations will be disadvantaged, have twice stymied efforts to launch a league structure since 2010.
“Bringing context to bilateral cricket is not a new challenge, but this is the first time a genuine solution has been agreed on,” ICC chairman Shashank Manohar said.
The nine nations in the competition are Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Indies. Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland called it “a really significant moment in international cricket history”. “It’s a tremendous step forward. The ICC and member countries have made a strong statement about international cricket and how we want to make sure it remains at the forefront of the three forms of the game.”
THIRD-TIME LUCKY?
The ICC will hope it’s a case of third time lucky for the Test championship after two previous attempts failed without a ball being bowled in anger.
A version was supposed to begin in 2013 but was scrapped because existing commercial arrangements meant the ICC was obliged to stage the one-day Champions Trophy instead.
Then plans for a June 2017 launch were scuppered when some of the game’s powerbrokers, including India, objected to a proposed two-tier league system, saying smaller teams would be disadvantaged.
There was also a reported lack of interest from television compa- nies. A recent i nnovation designed to reverse the trend is the introduction of day-night Test matches.
The Auckland meeting also agreed to experiment with fourday Tests, with South Africa and Zimbabwe set to trial the first in December. Richardson emphasised that the shorter Test matches were only being trialled and their results would not be part of new Test championship.
The ICC will also establish a 13-nation one-day international league starting in 2020, with results counting towards World Cup qualification. It argued that the league structure would give added context to Test and ODI fixtures, rather than the current system of bilateral series which have little bearing on other teams.
If one assumes the new league structure for Test and oneday cricket agreed at the ICC Board meeting on Friday will finally lead to the resumption of bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan, it is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
For BCCI officials Amitabh Choudhary, acting secretary, and Rahul Johri, the CEO, it was the biggest concern when they went for the ICC meeting in Auckland. “We didn’t want to be docked points for not playing Pakistan, like the women’s team last season. Chaudhary and Johri had been asked to discuss at the meeting how it can be resolved,” a BCCI insider said.
ISSUE TACKLED
For now, the ICC has addressed that issue by allowing the Boards to choose their rivals for the bilateral Test series – they only need to play six of the other eight teams.
According to the ICC arrangement, India are not required to play Pakistan in the first two cycles (2019 - 2021 and 2022 - 2024). If relations between the two nations improve, the two Boards can hold bilateral series, but it won’t be part of the league.
This arrangement is difficult to explain except that it is a compromise. Nine teams will play six series over the new two-year Test league cycle – three each home and away. Each series will have
THE ICC WILL ALSO ESTABLISH A 13NATION ODI LEAGUE STARTING IN 2020, WITH RESULTS COUNTING TOWARDS WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION.