MCC Committee recommends a minimum of 3-match Test collection, needs hosts to bear guests’ journey prices

A minimal of three-match Test collection and the house group footing the invoice of the visiting aspect in a bilateral contest are a number of the suggestions made by the MCC’s World Cricket Committee.

The World Cricket Committee of Marylebone Cricket Club, the custodians of the legal guidelines of the sport, met in Cape Town final week on the sidelines of SA20.

In a press release, the Committee rued the dearth of a collection decider within the drawn collection between Australia and West Indies following the guests’ gorgeous win on the Gabba. India and South Africa, too, drew a fiercely contested two-match collection in December.

“In support of the thrilling Test cricket currently being played and the importance of sustaining the traditional format of the game, the WCC recommends men’s Test series be played across a minimum of three matches from the next ICC Future Tours Programme from 2028 (next cycle) onwards,” stated the Committee.

ALSO READ: SL vs AFG: Pathum Nissanka turns into first Sri Lankan to attain ODI double century

The WCC additionally highlighted the inequality amongst ICC member nations and careworn the necessity to take the sport to unchartered territories.

“The game owes a debt of gratitude to India, with its insatiable thirst for cricket driving the wealth in the global game.

“However, this reliance upon India belies the fact that the game needs to identify new markets to ensure its global growth, at a time when media rights beyond the current cycle are by no means guaranteed.

“With this uncertainty identified and on the back of the momentum built through this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean and the build-up to the 2028 Olympics in the USA, the acceleration of the USA as a growth market for cricket would seem a natural consideration,” it stated.

“Absorb touring team costs in bilateral series” 

Recently, West Indies Cricket CEO claimed that the travelling bills of its groups account for a bit of the board’s funds.

At the second, the house group will get to maintain all of the media rights income generated from the collection, however the WCC needs the present mannequin to be reviewed.

“The WCC has long been aware of the game’s global economics being heavily imbalanced and detrimental to touring teams who bear the cost of travel, whilst all revenue is retained by the host body based upon a historical expectation of ‘quid pro quo’ touring arrangements.

ALSO READ: Tilak Varma: Performances with Mumbai Indians did help me in process of being picked for India

“With evidence emerging of this now creating inequalities the committee calls for this model to be reconsidered, with analysis to be conducted on the impact of home bodies absorbing these touring team costs as a way of redistributing income and adding greater context to all future bilateral cricket.” It additionally needs equal distribution of video games over an FTP cycle.

“The committee also feels the imbalance of the current FTP unfairly impacts some nations by restricting where valuable content can be played in calendar windows.

“From the commencement of the next cycle in 2028, it would be preferable for a more equitable split of matches to provide a more balanced opportunity for nations to access key dates and opposition,” the WCC added.

The chair of WCC is Sri Lanka nice Kumar Sangakkara, whereas the opposite members embody Clare Connor, Kumar Dharmasena, Sourav Ganguly, Jhulan Goswami, Heather Knight, Justin Langer, Eoin Morgan, Ramiz Raja, Ricky Skerritt and Graeme Smith.