The World Test Championship is to be ripped up and relaunched in time for England’s Test series against India this summer.
Telegraph Sport understands two divisions is an option on the table for discussion but no firm decisions have been made for the future. Richard Thompson, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, is to lead the revamping of the tournament in time for the next cycle to begin in June.
Thompson chairs the International Cricket Council’s strategic growth committee and held talks recently in Dubai with Jay Shah, the ICC’s new chairman, about the future of the World Test Championship. The two will lead on the plan to relaunch the format with a tight time frame of just five months before the next cycle begins when England play India in the first Test at Headingley on June 20.
“It is fully understood that the current structure does not work in the way it should and we need to find a fairer, better competition, but at this stage no recommendations have been put forward,” Thompson told Telegraph Sport.
“We have five months to work on this, step back and look at what the structure should be going forward. The World Test Championship should be fairer and more competitive. It is going to change to ensure it always encourages the best teams to reach the final and encourages other nations that want to play Test cricket, to play Test cricket. We will protect, grow and ensure the integrity of Test cricket because the format is crucial to the DNA of the game.”
It emerged in January that two divisions or tiers were being discussed as a future format for the World Test Championship but there are doubts about whether it could work. Countries will be reluctant to risk relegation to the second tier. Those in the second tier will, in turn, be concerned about being left behind.
But the current model is unsatisfactory with teams not always playing every other nation in a two-year cycle and a proliferation of two Test series has skewed standings. India and Pakistan do not play each other for political reasons and that immediately affects the integrity of the competition.
South Africa reached the final despite not playing Australia, although they will meet them in the showpiece at Lord’s in June.
Four-day Tests will form part of the discussion for the future because it enables boards to easier schedule three-Test series around franchise leagues. There has not been a three-Test series not involving the big three of England, India and Australia since 2019. It is understood that any discussion over four-day Tests is unlikely to involve Ashes series, or Tests between tier-one nations.
When Greg Barclay became ICC chair five years ago he cast doubt on the competition’s format, saying it was not “entirely fit for purpose”, but it remained unchanged. The debate about two divisions emanated from Australia on the back of the bumper series with India which broke attendance records. The concept of two divisions would see the big three play each other more often, which would in turn push other series further to the margins.
