LONDON: A new World Test Championship is set to come a step closer to reality as cricket’s lawmakers act to secure the future of the purest format of the game.
Telegraph Sport can reveal that the International Cricket Council has called a meeting with the MCC's world cricket committee to discuss the latter's idea for a new method of crowning the world champions of Test cricket.
Last month the committee called for the establishment of a Test tournament to rival the 50-over World Cup and World Twenty20 championship.
With attendance figures at Test matches declining the world over, and leading players retiring early from the game to cash in on Twenty20 cricket, the future of Test match cricket is in the balance.
A summit between the MCC's world cricket committee and the ICC will be held in Dubai in November, where the proposal to bring in a radical new championship will be explored.
"Test match cricket must fight back to ensure it survives around the world," Tony Lewis, chairman of the MCC's world cricket committee, said.
"All of the player surveys conducted in recent years say Test cricket is under threat, which is something we simply can't ignore. By the time of our meeting in November, we hope to have more evidence that Test match cricket is under threat and to have conducted research into the issue.
"We are looking at two potential formats [for a world championship] at the moment but we can't just put them into the public domain because people will shoot them down and say they cannot work, which is why we have to commit to proper research."
Attendance figures for the recent World Twenty20 broke all records for an ICC event, with the three venues, the Oval, Lord's and Trent Bridge, almost 98 per cent sold out. Interest in the ongoing Ashes series is high with Edgbaston, Lord's and Cardiff all recording large crowds for the final day's play, traditionally the hardest to sell.
But it is only three months ago that England were playing in front of empty stands at Lord's and Durham for a Test series against the West Indies. It was the first time the England and Wales Cricket Board had to face the fact Test match cricket is under threat even in this country, its last stronghold.
"We have all accepted that Test cricket is the art of the game and we must protect it but we have to rebrand, market and merchandise it properly so it can survive," added Lewis, a former England captain.
"We perhaps relax during an Ashes series about he future of Test cricket, but it has shown that it is the ultimate test of temperament and skill. It is the pinnacle of the game."
The idea of a World Test Championship is nothing new. Matthew Engel, as editor of Wisden, proposed the format in 1995 and until 2001 the almanac produced an unofficial world table which gained major publicity when England reached rock bottom after a home Test series defeat to New Zealand in 1999.
At the turn of the millennium, the ICC brought in its own rankings table but it has never become a fabric of the game.
The MCC proposal, which is the brainchild of former New Zealand player Martin Crowe, is for an eight-nation competition in which teams play three-match series with a semi-final and final to be played at Lord's.
Last year Cricket Australia commissioned Boston Consulting to write a paper proposing a reworking of the Test Championship but it found little favour with other ICC members.
The Cricket Australia paper suggested pooling television broadcast rights which found opposition from the ECB and Board of Control for Cricket in India, the two strongest bodies in world cricket.
At the ECB there is support for a World Test Championship, but doubts linger over its viability. Problems with scheduling, including the length of time it would take to play a World Test Championship, look difficult to overcome.
The ICC is also aware that 'icon' series such as the Ashes and those involving India, Australia and South Africa have to be protected.
The difficulty is formulating a ranking or points system when five match series are being held between England and Australia while other nations play two match series.
The FormatThere are two potential plans.
1. A four-year cycle of Test series that sees every nation play the other at least once with points awarded for winning and drawing Test series. The top two teams could play off in a final.
2. An annual or bi-annual tournament featuring eight teams playing in a straight knock-out competition or round robin with a semi-final and final to produce the champions. Problems with time scale and scheduling will be difficult to overcome.
The pros
Increase competitiveness among teams.
Create more spectator interest in series between the lower-ranked nations.
Offer new marketing and sponsorship opportunities.
Persuade players to prolong Test match careers.
Provide a World Cup final of Test cricket that could become the game’s most prestigious event.
Ensure each Test match has a significance beyond the series in which it is being played.
The cons
Scheduling within the framework of current television rights deals held by each individual board.
Interfere with the regular scheduling of Ashes series – the game’s most lucrative Test series.
A World Test tournament would be lengthy due to the nature of Test cricket.
Australia must win the final two Ashes Tests to retain their place at the top of the International Cricket Council’s world rankings. Otherwise South Africa will be the new No 1 side and Australia will drop to fourth in the rankings.