2023-2031 FTP news, updates, etc

[aydee]

So long as there is promotion and relegation, I'd be 100% behind 2 tiers.

Presumably England, India and Australia are too entitled and arrogant to allow that to happen though...

[AussieZimFan]

I can see the stronger teams deliberately seeking out weaker teams to play to increase their chances to make the final unless there is a change to the points system. Zimbabwe could become popular for the wrong reasons

[Andy31]

So long as there is promotion and relegation, I'd be 100% behind 2 tiers.

Presumably England, India and Australia are too entitled and arrogant to allow that to happen though...

I feel tiers would work best, as long as tier 2 sides can organise series with tier 1 sides still. These games shouldn't count towards points but more act as a way to still allow smaller teams to play bigger teams and potentially take in revenue.

[sam_ahm]

They are not looking at any Tier system. It will be good in any case if Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan are included in the WTC, will be great infact.

[Andy31]

They are not looking at any Tier system. It will be good in any case if Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan are included in the WTC, will be great infact.

I wonder if this become more tempting to lure some overseas players now to come back. Guaranteed games

[eugene]

Great news that the tiers are being abandoned. That being said, I don't imagine this will mean Zimbabwe touring Australia every four years for a test series. I can see some nonsensical format where you play 4 other teams on a rotating basis and then have the freedom to organize as many other series as you wish against other teams.

[sam_ahm]

Great news that the tiers are being abandoned. That being said, I don't imagine this will mean Zimbabwe touring Australia every four years for a test series. I can see some nonsensical format where you play 4 other teams on a rotating basis and then have the freedom to organize as many other series as you wish against other teams.

Probably something similar. At present every team plays 6 mandatory series' as part of WTC, they will most likely stick to the same format and Zimbabwe might play Australia once in May be 8 years as they keep rotating opponents in each cycle.

So fir example in one cycle Aus plays Zim, Ind, Eng, RSA, WI, Ban. Then next cycle they play Ire, Ind. Eng, NZ, SL, Afg.

Something like that.

But in any case Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan will get good amount of games against Top sides. At least one guaranteed series against Ind, Aus or Eng every 4 years. That is still a positive development.

[Kriterion_BD]

But in any case Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan will get good amount of games against Top sides. At least one guaranteed series against Ind, Aus or Eng every 4 years. That is still a positive development.

Not necessarily. Currently you are required to play 6 teams out of 8 possible opponents and Bangladesh haven't played England or Australia in 3+ cycles. To be fair, 1 series vs Australia got cancelled due to COVID, and we are scheduled to play both in the current cycle, but then again why was that series not re-scheduled in the 4 years since cricket resumed? Now if you have to play 6 teams out of 11 possible opponents, the odds of certain matchups (eg Zimbabwe vs Australia) actually diminish they don't increase. Having said that, is the WTC still a good idea? Resoundingly yes. Not perfect, but certainly better than the mindless FTP that wasn't really enforced anyways.

For the expanded 12 team WTC, I would like to see the fixtures get expanded as well. 8 series (4 home, 4 away) for each team, series must be minimum of 2 Tests. With 12 teams you could even have a proper play-off with the top 4 teams playing one-off semifinals, and then a 3 match Final series.

But a sample fixture list for India could be something like:

5 Tests vs Australia
2 Tests vs Zimbabwe
3 Tests vs South Africa
2 Tests vs West Indies

5 Tests @ England
2 Tests @ Ireland
3 Tests @ New Zealand
2 Tests @ Sri Lanka

Thats 12 home Tests, 12 away Tests = 24 Tests in 2 years which is about what the top teams play nowadays.

[sam_ahm]

Yes. That makes sense Kriterion. Main intension here is to have more test fixtures for Zimbabwe, Ire, Afg and that will be achieved through this 12 team WTC.

[eugene]

Given there supposedly isn't going to be financial help for countries like Ireland to host test cricket, what are the chances they are suddenly going to be playing 6-10 tests per year? I can see Ireland withdrawing from test cricket before hosting that many games.