Reduce ODIs post 2027 World Cup: MCC suggests to ICC | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: At a time when the International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to hold a key meeting of its Chief Executives’ Committee in Durban on Wednesday to perhaps chalk out the men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) from 2028 onwards, the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club‘s World Cricket committee (WCC) has recommended that “men’s ODIs be significantly reduced following the completion of the 2027 World Cup.”
The committee has suggested “removing bilateral ODIs, other than in the one-year preceding each World Cup.”
The MCC’s WCC, which is headed by former England captain Mike Gatting (outgoing president) and includes stalwarts of the game like former India captain Sourav Ganguly, Jhulan Goswami, Heather Knight Ramiz Raza, Justin Langer, Graeme Smith, Kumar Sangakkara and Eoin Morgan, met recently at Lord’s ahead of the second Ashes Test for an “assessment of the state of the global game.”
As per a release by the MCC on Tuesday, the committee “questioned the role of men’s ODI cricket now plays outside of the ICC World Cups, and recommended it be significantly reduced following the completion of the 2027 ICC Men’s World Cup.” The suggestion is that a scarcity of ODI cricket would increase the quality, achieved by removing bilateral ODIs, other than in the one-year preceding each World Cup. This would, as a consequence, also create much-needed space in the global cricketing calendar.”

‘Introduce strategic funds for Tests & women’s game’
The MCC panel has also proposed strategic funds to protect Test cricket & drive the women’s game. The committee highlighted that a widening disparity between nations is evolving, with the current model heavily favouring the minority who dominate a system that, without intervention, has the potential to not suitably benefit the international game. “The committee voiced particular concern for the survival of Test cricket in nations outside of India, Australia and England, with the associated impact brought about by a narrowing competition pool,” mentioned the MCC release.
The committee, therefore, has recommended that the ICC undertake a “Test match financial audit,” which would help it “identify nations in need of support in order to sustain a Test match programme,” following which “this need could be a subsequently addressed via a separate Test match fund, established to protect the sanctity of Test match cricket.”
“The committee continues to hear of the growing unaffordability to host men’s Test match cricket in many nations and concluded that the game currently lacks quantifiable data on the costs of hosting a Test match across its member nations. To address this lack of insight, it proposed a recommendation for the ICC to undertake a Test match financial audit to provide a clearer picture. This audit of operational costs versus commercial return would help the ICC identify nations in need of support in order to sustain a Test match programme. This need could be subsequently addressed via a separate Test fund, established to protect the sanctity of Test match cricket,” mentioned the MCC release.
The WCC recommended that the ICC’s men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) from 2028 should have an “equitable schedule of matches for all member countries, rewarding hosts and nations alike.”
“Ahead of the next iteration of the ICC men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) in 2028, it calls on the ICC to ensure the men’s FTP beyond 2027 has an equitable schedule of matches for all full member countries, rewarding hosts and touring nations alike. The goal must be to secure a balanced, meaningful, and commercially viable FTP for all, which prioritises bilateral cricket, finds suitable space for franchise cricket yet, in particular, supports the full potential of the ICC World Test Championship to be recognised,” the MCC release mentioned.
The MCC release quoted outgoing WCC chairman Gatting as saying: “In many ways, cricket is growing and, on the surface, seems financially strong. However, we are increasingly seeing a game which focuses on a powerful few, as opposed to a democratic and inclusive approach for the benefit of the whole sport. It’s time for the global game to reset. Too often, member nations are finding themselves living hand to mouth with their cricketing operations, versus having a long-term, viable strategy in place that future-proofs the game in their country, both financially and in terms of participation.”