THE INTERNATIONAL Cricket Council will mull the introduction of a new four-year league and a playoff series to decide the world’s Test champion as part of a raft of measures to boost interest in the sport.
The league would determine the top four teams to contest a playoff, and the first playoff tournament had been requested for 2013, the ICC said in a statement yesterday.
Test cricket, which has struggled to maintain its profile since the advent of Twenty20 cricket, currently has a rankings system but no tournament to determine the top Test nation.
An ICC working group had also proposed a similar four-year league for one-day matches, the first from April 2011 to April 2014. It would run separate to the World Cup, the ICC said.
The proposals signalled the ICC’s intention to keep all three formats amid calls for one-day internationals to be reduced or scrapped altogether.
“Restructuring international cricket is a significant strategic challenge and one that must be dealt with,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
“Protecting and promoting all three formats at international level is viable and I believe the (working group) has shown itself to be forward thinking in tackling the challenges.”
Other proposals included reducing the number of teams competing at the World Cup to 10. The 2011 edition to be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will see 14 teams compete.
The ICC will also examine expanding the World Twenty20 to a 16-team competition and introducing a rankings system.
