ICC opens the door for Associate nations to play Test cricket

The ICC on Thursday paved the way for Associate Members to play Test cricket by introducing the ‘ICC Test Challenge’ — which will take place every four years between the lowest-ranked Test team and winner of the ICC Inter-Continental Cup. “The ICC Board approved the introduction of an ICC Test Challenge which will take place every four years between the lowest ranked Test team and the winner of the ICC Intercontinental Cup,” a media release issued by ICC said. “The proposal is that the 10th ranked side on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings on 31 December 2017, or at the conclusion of any series in progress at that time, will play two five-day matches at home and two five-day matches away against the winner of the upcoming ICC Intercontinental Cup, with the inaugural Challenge scheduled to take place during 2018,” it said. [caption id=“attachment_1474933” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  In the next eight years, two ICC Intercontinental Cup tournaments are planned with the first to run from 2015 to 2017 and the second to be held between 2019 and 2021. Reuters[/caption] In the next eight years, two ICC Intercontinental Cup tournaments are planned with the first to run from 2015 to 2017 and the second to be held between 2019 and 2021. The second ICC Test Challenge is scheduled for 2022. “The ICC Test Challenge now opens the door for Associate Members to play Test cricket and in doing so gives even greater context to the ICC Intercontinental Cup which will now be a pathway to Test cricket,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson was quoted as saying by the release. At the meeting, the board members followed up on the resolutions passed at the ICC Board Meeting in Singapore on February 8, 2014. “The ICC Board members agreed on a long-term work plan to support the implementation of those resolutions which do not require constitutional change,” the release stated. At the same time, the ICC Board authorised the drawing up of the necessary constitutional amendments which will be placed before the Full Council at the ICC Annual Conference to be held in Melbourne at the end of June. One of the cornerstones of the new financial model is an extended Future Tours Programme (FTP) which will now run until 2023. Richardson on his part, said, “The FTP is a very important piece of work as it gives Members a long-term certainty in relation to both their playing schedule and financial planning. “Significant progress has been made but there is still work to be done to develop a balanced calendar of tours and finalise these agreements.” It was also decided in the meeting that format and qualification process of the ICC World Twenty20 scheduled to be held in India in 2016 will also have the same format as the recently-concluded one. “The ICC Board agreed that the same format be retained for the ICC World Twenty20 events in 2016, which will be staged in India. For the 2016 event, the top eight Full Members on the Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings as on 30 April 2014 will automatically qualify for the second round, while the ninth and 10th ranked Full Members will get automatic places in the first round.” “The six qualifiers will progress from the 14-team ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015, which will be staged in Ireland and Scotland from 9 July to 2 August 2015 during which a total of 51 matches will be played.” The ICC Cricket Committee will have Australian coach Darren Lehmann and West Indies’ Ottis Gibson as the representatives of national coaches as Gary Kirsten is set to complete his term. Among the other updates, the Board also considered a general update on anti-corruption and integrity while the IDI Board received a report from the Finance & Commercial Affairs Committee. It includes updates on the commercial rights post-2015, Host and Members’ Participation Agreements for the next commercial rights cycle, online piracy, event forecasts and audited financial statements for 2013. The next ICC and IDI Board meetings will take place during the ICC Annual Conference week in Melbourne in June 2014. Those who attended the meeting: ICC president: Alan Isaac ICC vice-president: Mustafa Kamal ICC chief executive: David Richardson Australia: Wally Edwards Bangladesh: Nazmul Hassan England: Giles Clarke India: Narayanaswami Srinivasan New Zealand: Martin Snedden Pakistan: Najam Sethi South Africa: Peter Cyster (For Chris Nenzani) Sri Lanka: Jayantha Dharmadasa West Indies: Dave Cameron Zimbabwe: Peter Chingoka Associate Members: Neil Speight (Bermuda) Associate Member: Keith Oliver (Scotland) Associate Member: Imran Khawaja (Singapore) PTI