ICC takes the first step toward the World Test Championship

International Cricket Council, the governing body of cricket has taken the preliminary step for the much anticipated World Test Championship. There have been discussions many times regarding a competition to decide the champions in the Test format as there are World Cups for the ODI and T20I formats but nothing of that sort in Tests.

ICC has called for a meeting to finalize the plan for the competition which is provisionally scheduled for the year 2019. The scheduling managers of the cricket boards around the game will participate in the meeting next week.

The initial design of the championship is to have a four-year cycle with a cut-off date for the qualification and the top two nations will play a Test match to decide the winner. The cut-off point will be decided in the meeting on Monday and the day that follows.

ICC would also seek for suggestions from the members whether to start the cycle taking into consideration the matches in the past or with a certain date in the future. There are chances that the competition might not be held in 2019 if the cycle starts from April 2017.

For the present, a 9+3 format will be adopted with two sides in the nine-team group qualifying for the title game. If the meeting does prove to be fruitful with positive responses from the boards, it will increase the intensity of Test cricket as well with the teams fighting to achieve Test glory. It will be for the first time when a championship will take place for the Test format.

From BCCI, CEO Rahul Johri is to represent in the meeting along with operations head MV Sridhar but it is still not confirmed whether Johri would be able to attend the meeting or not. The ICC’s meeting could also feature discussions over the bilateral series between India and Pakistan scheduled at the end of this year.