FICA not fully convinced about Test Championship, ODI league
A day after the ICC accepted the Test and ODI Championships, the Federation of International Cricketer’s Association (FICA) expressed concern about the new structure. FICA feels the move was positive, but more work needed to be done to ensure balance between international and Twenty20 leagues.
As per the proposed Test Championship, which will be put in place after the 2019 World Cup, the top nine teams will play a total of six series each - three at home and three away. The teams will have to play a minimum of two Tests in a series, while they can expand it to five Tests as well.
The ODI league will have 13 teams in total which comprise the 12 Full Members and the winner of the ICC World Cricket League Championship. The ODI league, which will be put in place in 2020, will be organised in a two-year cycle ahead of the 2023 World Cup and will be changed to a three-year cycle after that with teams battling it out in eight series - four at home and four away series - with a maximum of three ODIs in one series.
Although FICA acknowledges that it is a step forward for the growth of the game, the overall cricketing structure did not address existing weakness in the system.
“One of international cricket’s biggest challenges is the increasing prioritisation by players of Twenty20 leagues ahead of international cricket and this can only be addressed by appropriate structural change,” said Tony Irish, the executive chairman of FICA, on Saturday (October 14).
Irish asked for clarity regarding the scheduling of day-night and four day Tests and urged that a path
“Although it’s not ideal that teams won’t play all other teams during the cycle, the league is otherwise clear and it also provides meaningful opportunities to 13 teams,” he said.
“Whilst FICA acknowledges some context has now been introduced into Test cricket it is clear that optimal change has been restricted by the fact that context is being wrapped around existing bilateral scheduling arrangements instead of the other way around.
“We will have to see exactly how the points will work but I think it’s a challenge to run a genuine league when some countries will be playing significantly more matches than other countries in the same league table.
“It is also left up to countries to play Test matches outside the competition structure which is likely to be confusing and simply adds volume without context. Perhaps some of these non-league matches will be against new Test nations but then it’s a pity that there is no clear pathway for those countries to advance or enter the competition based on merit.”
FICA noted that four-day Test matches will not be part of the Test league, which begged the question as to what its purpose was. Irish said FICA wasn’t involved in the decision-making process but hopes that will change soon.
“We are not sure of the objective of playing four day Tests right now. We see the benefit that four day Tests could bring to an overall competition structure but the benefit of
“I think we should have been, especially because the player labour market and player decision-making are significant drivers of what the future of the game will look like,” remarked Irish. “It seems that the agreed structure will be locked-in for some time. We will now have to see whether the changes have gone far enough to sufficiently enhance international cricket.”