The International Cricket Council is concerned over Test matches being postponed to accommodate other formats of the game, therefore, the ICC Cricket Committee has recommended that a team’s failure to play a minimum number of five-day games over a four-year period should lead to the withdrawal of its Test status.
Chaired for the first time by Anil Kumble, who has taken over from former West Indies captain Clive lloyd, the committee met here on Wednesday. “Noting the examples during the year where Test matches had been postponed to make room for other formats of the game, the committee recommended that all Test playing Members should be required to play a minimum number of Test matches over a four-year period in order to maintain their Test status,” the ICC said in a statement.
The committee reiterated its support for the strategy of ensuring an “optimum balance and a clear differentiation between the three formats of the game”. It also noted the need to ensure that Test cricket, in particular, was protected.
“The Committee also supported the concept of a Test play-off event as the climax to a qualification period of bilateral FTP matches with the ICC Reliance Test Rankings being used to determine the qualifiers for this event,” the release stated.