Test cricket is about to be restyled in a move that organizers hope will up the viability of the longest and most esteemed form of the game.
Starting in 2019, nine of the 12 countries eligible to play in test matches will meet in three home and three away series over the two years that count toward the championship, the International Cricket Council announced on Friday.
Organizers said the trial would improve competition and enliven test cricket, which has struggled to engage fans who have turned increasingly to matches that accelerate play.
“The trial is exactly that, a trial, in the same way day-night tests and technology have been trialled,” Dave Richardson, the ICC’s chief executive, told reporters.
ICC Director Giles Clarke speaks about Test cricket after the ICC meetings in Auckland. pic.twitter.com/r2WSOY8A0q
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Each series will run between two and five matches over five days, with the top two teams to meet in a final scheduled for June 2021. The countries — the trial will exclude Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland at the outset — will play three home and three away series over the two years that count toward the championship.
Starting in 2021, the ICC also will introduce a league comprised of 13 teams that will face off in one-day international matches. The ODI series, which will feature the 12 test nations plus the winner of the current world cricket league championship, will determine which teams qualify for the World Cup in India two years later.
Richardson added that while the concept remains a trial, it should help Ireland and Afghanistan, which earned test status in June, to hone their skills and come up to speed with the other test nations faster.