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An Australian initiative aimed at forming a fund worth 15 million USD or more to keep the best players of the sport interested and around in Test cricket looks set to be adopted by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Most major cricketing nations are currently struggling in competition with lucrative T20 franchise leagues, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), which have financial benefits and pulling powers big enough to attract some of the best players in the world. Australia is working closely with India and England in order to form a strategy to boost the longest form of the game, as per Sydney Morning Herald. This fund will make sure that a minimum Test payment is given to all the players and will also help in paying of costs for overseas tours for struggling teams. Notably, West Indies spent one million USD in sending the men's and women's teams to the tour of Australia last summer. Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird, who raised the idea back in January, is happy that it is going to be embraced. "It is fantastic to see some momentum behind the Test match fund," Baird said as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald. "We need to take away the barriers and encourage Test cricket to be the best of the best. To retain that history and that legacy, which goes alongside the newer forms of white ball cricket," he added. The concept of this fund has also been well received by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, who himself called for a dedicated fund for long format game. "There should be a dedicated fund for Tests, whether it is 5 million USD, 10 million USD or more. It is expensive to host teams for five-day Tests, so we are preparing for it. If the [ICC] board agrees, we are ready to do it," said Shah to Indian media this week. The fund is unlikely to benefit directly the three most dominant powers in world cricket, India, Australia and England. The move to start a Test fund started after South Africa sent a second-string, inexperienced team to tour New Zealand after most of its big players were busy in the SA20 season two. Former Aussie captain Steve Waugh had then lashed out at game's administrators, saying that they "do not care" about Test cricket. Following Waugh's statement, Baird agreed that action had to be taken. "If we are in a position that national teams are not being prioritised, then we have got a lot of work to do," Baird said. (ANI)
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