Mumbai: As the second half of the World Test Championship’s (WTC) fourth edition gets rolling, the jury is still out on whether it has left Test cricket in a better place. For all its faults, what however can’t be denied is that the nine-team WTC arrangement has helped Test cricket survive the surfeit of T20.
After strong criticism of the lopsided playing roster, the cricket ecosystem has come to terms with the reality that only the better-off cricket boards will be able to host more Test cricket.
It was reasoned that current champions South Africa earning a shot at the title after playing a bare minimum of 12 Tests was less than ideal from a competition standpoint. That said, if cricket boards were forced to take on more Test obligations, there is a fear they could potentially end up with even lesser control over their players and lose them to the T20 franchise landscape.
Starting with the Australia-Bangladesh and India-Sri Lanka series this week, Test cricket is entering an unofficial window where 21 WTC matches would be played over the next five months. Concurrently, cricket officials are working overtime for a crucial Future Tours Program meet next month where details will be fleshed out for approval in the November ICC Board meeting on how the game would be spread across formats in the next four-year cycle.
12-team WTC expansion unlikely
{{/usCountry}}12-team WTC expansion unlikely
{{/usCountry}}The proposed WTC expansion to involve all 12 full member nations is set to be given a thumbs down, HT learns. The idea was suggested by an ICC working group headed by Cricket New Zealand’s Roger Twose, but it hasn’t got widespread support internally. That’s down to pure economics.
Newest Test nations Ireland and Afghanistan are known to hold the view that hosting even one-off Test series would prove commercially unviable. As per industry estimates, hosting a Test involves costs in the range of $1 million. For smaller nations, unless the opposing team were India, or for a few others England, recovering costs through broadcast is out of the question.
Cricket Zimbabwe, however, is known to be pushing for a WTC berth. They played 11 Tests last year and even struck an arrangement for the England Cricket Board to pay them touring fees for their away Test. The critique against Ireland and Afghanistan is that they have done little with their Test status despite enjoying increased funding benefits. In Afghanistan’s case, however, increased costs of an adopted home present a unique challenge.
There’s the other argument: a lack of competition with uneven match-ups turns fans away. The India-Afghanistan one-off Test in New Chandigarh played under the hot June sun had sparse crowd. Afghanistan batters were bowled out twice in 94.3 overs inside three days.
While the fine print on the shape and form of the next WTC is still being worked out, it is understood that the present arrangement of allowing member boards to strike bilateral deals based on commercial viability will continue. Only India, England and Australia currently play five-Test series among themselves on a home-and-away basis.
South Africa is striving to steadily increase the volume of its Test calendar. The upcoming Australian tour of South Africa is expected to generate enough buzz around the Sandpaper Gate storyline. The year-ending England tour of South Africa, however, is not proving to be as lucrative as thought, with leading English broadcaster Sky looking away.
The ICC is known to be looking closely at adding more meaning to the WTC. There is an acknowledgement that currently the conversation centres around the WTC concept only closer to the final. The average fan is not as engaged with the idea of the championship throughout the two-year cycle. Whether the improvement comes in the form of a change in points system remains to be seen.
While future strategies are being drawn, the focus is to keep cricket’s most prestigious product alive. The caveat is that Test cricket needs to be “rightsized”, according to a key official. Test cricket for everyone continues to be seen as just an utopian idea.