FTP for next 4 years

[Kriterion_BD]

Zimbabwe and BD should be playing 8 tests a year minimum which isn't hard just two home series and two away or two longer home series and one away ......

If Ireland gain test status both Zim and BD will more than likely play them more often than the top nations .....

I'm actually hoping Ireland get test status so we get more tests ( as long as we don't loose it ) .....

If we are talking about "should" than BD/ZIM should be playing as many Tests as IND/ENG/AUS. If they really want Test cricket to be a league - they don't, they scrapped the Test playoffs - all teams have to play equally. But cricket is sporting weirdo, and we have to just live with it. Like a relationship, it ain't perfect, but its still pretty good.

When the ICC was reordered, BD/ZIM were facing Test elimination...of course the ICC didn't really intend to do that - if they did, they wouldn't have relented so easily - only the BCB voiced opposition to BD/ZIM being relegated to Associate status. In that light, I was afraid BD would get maximum of 4 tests a year like we have been for the past 4-5 years. So I was pleasantly shocked to see the draft FTP had us playing 64 Tests in 8 years. I thought 8 was ideal, even 7 a year would be good. 6 would have been OK. But realistically, BD playing 12 tests a year would just burn out our players. We are already seeing teams like India struggle and that is with the player pool they have. But they don't have the collective stamina like England or AUS do to put out replacement players during a long season.

Ultimately the number of fixtures each team gets is directly related to their power in the ICC boardroom. Only a small part of that is based on how good the team actually is. On merit, India wouldn't merit very many tests and BD/ZIM just a one-off test every other year or so.

In the end, if the top sides are getting 12-13 games, middling sides like PAK and NZ 8-10, BD and ZIM getting 8 and 5 respectively is an accurate reflection of the power balance in today's game. I am still slightly wary since the official FTP still hasn't been released. But the initial signs are positive, for example this FTP that I posted in the OP, which seems legit. The BCB has also confirmed the 2015 schedule with 7 tests this year.

[CrimsonAvenger]

BD and ZIM getting 8 and 5 respectively is an accurate reflection of the power balance in today's game.

I have no idea why us fans of the game must accept the power balance. In terms of where the two teams are talent-wise, there isn't much to separate them (the Zim whitewashes notwithstanding, BD had a terrible 2014). I see no reason why it is acceptable to see BD play 8 tests on an average and Zim 5. 6-7 each for both - i accept. If even BD leaves Zim behind, then it is an indication of other boards not caring enough about Zim, and BD has a market in future, so more focus there. This is not a cricketing decision and brings us back to the first statement of mine. Zim must gun for more tests per year. The 2015 calendar is ridiculous for starters.

[Kriterion_BD]

We don't know what deals were actually made back door. Thus we can only speak from an outsider fan perspective. Yes, ideally all teams should play the same amount. However, that has never and will never be the case. No point talking about as mere fans.

I think the fact that BD generally gets more fixtures and prestigious tours is due mostly to the generalized view that while both teams are minnows, BD are significantly more competitive not just in Tests but across formats. Even before the 8-0 tour, there was a decent majority who would rate BD ahead of ZIM. That can only have been strengthened since. Even our horrible 2014 featured several near wins. Its that competitiveness that indicates true standard. That and the 9-5 record against top sides in 2012-13. In contrast Zim have only a one off win against the most flippant of top sides and another vs AUS.

BD are also 100 fold more marketable, and the fact that were still not marketable enough for tours of England just proves that 100 x 0.01 = not very much. But we ought to be more marketable. The expatriate communities in UK number about 300,000 and probably 50,000 in AUS. There are probably not 50,000 Zim expats in both countries combined.

And all that assumes that ZC wanted more tests to begin with. Remember the BCB was very vocal about retaining test status when the ICC was being restructured. ZC didn't make a sound. The BCB made it a priority to play more tests, and if this FTP is to believed, it was in part due to convincing the world BD are a team on the up and in part due to aggressive lobbying. ZC just doesn't exude that same stability or confidence in viability.