GROS ISLET, (Reuters) – ICC chief executive Haroon  Lorgat wants to see Twenty20 cricket kept in its place and test  matches become more meaningful as the game’s international  governing body tries to deal with a crammed calendar.

The rise of the hugely popular Twenty20 format has worried  purists who fear a decline in tests and Lorgat said while he  shared those fears, he felt the answer was now to reform the  test system. He expected to hear next month from a group  looking into as yet unrevealed plans for a new world test  championship.

“About two years ago I went to watch Australia play India  in Mohali and … there wasn’t much support, which was a  concern,” Lorgat told Reuters at the World Twenty20 tournament  yesterday. “That isn’t what you want to see for the pinnacle  of the sport.

“We are very keen to promote test cricket and build  context.

“But … it’s the quality of the games that will attract  interest and I think people are starting to realise we need to  proactively do something about it.

“We need to develop the context … ensure the quality is  good and schedule them at the right times.”

Lorgat said he felt the ICC had the balance right when it  came to international Twenty20 cricket, with a biannual World  tournament and restricting the number of games each year,  though he was wary against any further encroachment on the  calendar of the lucrative Indian Premier League.

“There would be concerns if he grows beyond what it  currently is because it just about fits the current schedule,”  Lorgat said.

“But the IPL themselves do not want international players  available throughout the event. They are quite happy for  contract players to fit around their commitments. “What takes precedents are the international fixtures and  we saw that this season.

“At the moment we are working it out, it just about fits  but there would be practical issues if it extended much more.”

Lorgat also said while the organisation was committed to  the one-day World Cup, he was less emphatic in his backing for  the Champions Trophy when asked if it’s status would be  reviewed.

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t, we are always  open-minded,” he said.

“We talk about day/night tests, we talk about all sorts of  innovations so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t challenge the  Champions Trophy.

“I think we succeeded in differentiating it last year, the  players were very excited by the short duration so it was a  different experience for them.

“It was often referred to as a mini World Cup which I was  keen to remove from the table because it isn’t a mini World  Cup. “We have found a place for the Champions Trophy but we  still look at all our events and how to position them in the  future.”

Lorgat added he felt the ICC was in a good position to deal  with the twin spectre of matchfixing and corruption, which had  threatened to tear the game apart 10 years ago.

“I think we have got a very solid foundation and structures  and processes to deal with most of these challenges that come  to the table now,” he said.

“Having said that I’m not naive and recognise that the  greater the sport becomes, the more exciting it becomes, the  more productive it becomes, the more money that it attracts,  the bigger the challenges.

“But I think we have got a system and structure that is  fairly robust to deal with most things that we face,” he said.