(Reuters) – Australia, England and India are to get more influence in deciding the future of world cricket following decisions made on the first day of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) board meeting in Dubai yesterday.
A new ICC executive committee will be established, including representatives of Cricket Australia, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The world test championship, which was due to take place in England in 2017, has been scrapped and replaced by the Champions Trophy one-day tournament which had originally been dropped from the schedule after the 2013 edition in England.
ICC associate members are also to get the chance to play test cricket under a new two-tier system and a special fund is being created to ensure the continued health of the five-day game.
The Future Tours Programme was also dropped in favour of bilateral agreements between countries to cover test series between 2015 and 2023, meaning the eight full members will not be forced to play each other on a regular basis.
“This is an important time for world cricket and it is extremely encouraging that the ICC Board has unanimously supported a set of far-reaching principles that will underpin the long-term prosperity of the global game,” ICC president Alan Isaac said on the ruling body’s website.
“These principles emphasise the primacy of test cricket and that for the first time in cricket’s history participation will be based entirely on meritocracy, giving everyone powerful incentives to play better cricket and develop better cricketers.”
