Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg batted for fewer Test matches involving a handful of nations, saying that forcing some cricket countries to play the traditional 5-day format might bring finacial ruin upon those aforementioned countries. He added that there should be more investment in marquee series like the Ashes.
“I don’t think everyone in world cricket needs to aspire to play test cricket, and that might be Ok. We’re literally trying to send countries bankrupt if we force them to try to play test cricket. Scarcity in test cricket is our friend, not our foe,” Greenberg said.
“We need to make sure we invest in the right spaces to play test cricket where it means something and has jeopardy. That’s why the Ashes will be as enormous and profitable as it is — because it means something,” he added.
India, England and Australia are often referred to as the ‘Big Three’ in cricket. Test series between them are played over five matches and attract a lot of eyeballs and revenue. The just-concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy saw nail-biting contests, high drama and on-field skirmishes in a series that ended 2-2 after a classic at The Oval. The 2023 Ashes in England was also a memorable encounter, also finishing 2-2 after the hosts recovered from a 0-2 deficit. The return series Down Under, starting in November this year, is highly anticipated.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has set up a Working Group under former New Zealand batsman Roger Twose to look into ways of improving the WTC format ahead of the 2027-29 cycle, and one of the options on the table is a two-tier system with promotion and relegation built into it.
Instead of backing the two-tier formula, Thompson wants the current WTC structure to be tweaked, citing the underdog story of South Africa emerging as champions in the final in June, beating favourites Australia.