ICC proposes radical changes to 50-over, T20 formats
An International Cricket Council (ICC) committee has recommended a cut in the number of teams in the 50-over World Cup from 14 to 10.
According to the Age, the recommendation is an admission that the 2011 World Cup format has too many uncompetitive matches in the opening rounds. The committee said that it wants cricket’s “minnows” to compete against established teams in Twenty20 instead of one-day cricket.
It has also recommended that the next Twenty20 World Cup, scheduled for 2012, should be expanded to include 16 nations. On current rankings, nations including Canada, Ireland, Kenya and the Netherlands would struggle to qualify for the 2015 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
The committee also advanced a long-awaited plan of a Test league run over four years, which would culminate in a competition between the top-four teams at the end of the period.
The first period of the championship, however, would be curtailed, with the first Test finals scheduled for 2013. Talking about the proposals, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said that protecting and promoting the three formats of the game at the international level was “viable”.
“I believe the (committee) has shown itself to be forward thinking in tackling the challenges,” Lorgat said.
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