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‘They basically rolled their eyes’: Cricket’s superpowers ignored a blueprint to save Tests
Australia, England and India were given a blueprint to save Test cricket last year. They left it on the shelf.
The blueprint took the form of a discussion paper penned largely by Martin Snedden, the much-travelled former chair of New Zealand Cricket and the only member of the International Cricket Council board of directors to have played Test cricket.
Australia, India and England are the mighty “big three” in world cricketCredit: Getty
This masthead has obtained briefing documents from the ICC future tours program review chaired by Snedden in 2023, which outlined the problems facing international cricket as domestic Twenty20 leagues encroach on ever more months of the calendar.
The subcommittee’s research was presented to the ICC board at its annual conference in Durban in July last year. According to several eyewitnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity because ICC board discussions are confidential, the project generated virtually zero constructive discussion of the future. “They basically rolled their eyes and ignored it,” one said.
Among numerous “themes from consultations” contained in the discussion paper were:
- Proposed additional windows in the calendar for T20 leagues other than the IPL.
- Recognition of the need to improve the world Test championship points system – possibly with two divisions or two conferences of six Test teams.
- Tighter ODI structures with qualifying for both World Cups and Champions Trophy over two-year cycles.
- Suggestions that a 40-over ODI format would work better in the current day - first World Cup matches were played over 60 overs.
- Concerns about a complete lack of context for T20 international matches.
- Consideration of broadcast rights pooling for bilateral cricket.
India are the wealthiest cricket nation while smaller countries struggle to survive.Credit: Getty Images
In January, the problems outlined in the discussion paper were illustrated by South Africa’s selection of a third rate Test squad to tour New Zealand as it clashed with the SAT20 tournament. This prompted Steve Waugh to publicly denounce cricket officialdom for not caring about saving Test cricket.
Cricket Australia’s chair, Mike Baird, and chief executive, Nick Hockley, have this year expressed their desire to work on improving the international system with the goal of preserving Test cricket in particular. The next round of ICC meetings takes place in Dubai in March, with Baird expected to attend.
But it remains to be seen whether they will belatedly take up some of the concepts thrown up by the discussion paper last year. One senior CA source, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak freely, insisted that Snedden’s work “will not be wasted”.
Snedden declined to comment on the FTP review when contacted by this masthead.
For a panel also comprising Tavenga Mukulani, chair of Zimbabwe Cricket, Richard Thompson, chair of the ECB, and Gaurav Saxena, general manager of operations for the BCCI, the goal was not to produce an instant solution for the issues facing the game, nor to dictate terms to the membership.
It was merely to reach a point where a series of “principles” could be agreed to reshape the calendar beyond the end of the current FTP in 2027.
“The FTP already has significant problems which won’t go away and which could worsen further if not addressed,” the report stated. “If the FTP, and structured bilateral cricket, is to survive, we must try to come up with workable FTP solutions that can be implemented at member level.”
But with most members preoccupied with domestic matters, the only thing that occupied their thinking globally was how much money each board would take home from the new ICC rights deal for global events.
The BCCI ultimately secured 37 per cent of a pot worth around $US4 billion ($6 billion), with other members accepting smaller percentages that still ensured more money for them than previously.
“Agreeing on workable solutions will require all relevant parties – players, ICC and its members, and the T20 franchise owners – to be willing to compromise,” the report stated.
The ICC briefing document.
“If this becomes a vicious battle for territory, there will be some serious winners and some serious losers. No one will get everything they want. If there is sensible compromise, everyone can get most of what they want.”
In addition to the proposals above, the report stated: “Some appetite to consider a revised FTP commercial model has been expressed. This would not be as straightforward as the collective rights model used for ICC events.
“We should be inspired by the huge success of the ICC events model introduced in 2002, since then, increasing the revenue pool from $US600m for the first edition (over five years which included the 2003 and 2007 50-over CWCs) to $US3.6bn for the four year 2024-2027 cycle.”
Members were also warned about the extent to which international cricket is adrift from the hallmarks of a great sporting competition, highlighted by the inclusion of a graphic (see above) that illustrated concepts like “best versus the best”, consistency in scheduling and a clear narrative for fans to follow.
“Schedule 2 demonstrates what ‘a great sporting competition’ looks like. At the moment not much of our respective FTP Test, ODI or T20 series would rate very highly against this criteria.”
Among the “discussion starters” also included in the paper was the concept of using the English northern summer and also winter venues in northern Australia as alternative neutral venues to play international cricket to reduce “clutter” in the southern season.
“Given that a high number of full members are based in the southern hemisphere, in order to spread FTP volume across the 12 months, is there a case for other FMs making use of England’s international venues to host ‘home’ FTP cricket during the northern hemisphere summer?” the report stated. “Darwin, Australia, is another southern hemisphere winter option.”
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