The MCC World Cricket Committee (WCC) has voiced its support for the proposal to mandate a minimum of three Tests per series, as advocated by various influential figures in cricket, including Cricket Australia, Clive Lloyd, and Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
During a recent meeting chaired by former Sri Lankan captain Kumara Sangakkara in Cape Town, the WCC recommended to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to eliminate one-off Test matches and two-Test series from the Future Tours Programme (FTP) starting from 2028.
Concerns about the future viability of Test cricket arose when South Africa opted to send a squad of non-contracted players to New Zealand for a two-Test series, resulting in a weakened team. This move highlighted the need for more substantial Test series to maintain the competitiveness and integrity of the format.
While there have been previous calls for an increase in Test cricket globally, funding remains a significant hurdle, particularly for cricket boards outside of traditional powerhouses like India, England, and Australia.
What did the MCC say?
“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.
“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. This should form part of a broader audit of the current costs of the international game called for following the previous WCC meeting in July 2023,” the statement said.
MCC suggests ICC to reduce its dependency on India and BCCI
The WCC urged the ICC to explore new markets for cricket beyond India, emphasizing the need for global growth and sustainability.
With the recent success of cricket events in the USA and the upcoming 2028 Olympics in the country, there is growing momentum for cricket's expansion into new territories, particularly the USA, to ensure its long-term prosperity and relevance on the global stage.
“The game owes a debt of gratitude to India, with its insatiable thirst for cricket driving the wealth in the global game," it said. "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.”