Ahead of the release of the annual Wisden Cricketers Almanack, in his notes in the book, the publication’s editor Lawrence Booth has criticised the current system of the World Test Championship (WTC) and called for reform.
“Among the first items in (newly-appointed ICC Chair Jay) Shah’s in-tray ought to be the World Test Championship, a shambles masquerading as a showpiece,” Booth is quoted as writing in this year’s Wisden by BBC. “With teams playing a different number of matches against a different set of opponents, it requires a calculator to rank them, offending the first rule of thumb for any sporting endeavour: it must be easy to follow.”
The third edition of the WTC will be won in a final contested between South Africa and Australia between June 11-15 at Lord’s. Many, including Booth, have questioned South Africa’s qualification to the final when they have played so many two-match series’ and did not face England or Australia at all in the two-year cycle.
Booth says a four-year system, with each of the nine Test-playing nations playing each other home and away during that cycle, is the right way to go about it. “The ICC cannot allow the championship to continue as if designed on the back of a fag packet. Double its length to four years, like football and rugby, and ensure the top nine in the rankings all play each other, home and away, over series of at least three Tests,” the book notes.
After India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy – a tournament which saw India captain lift the trophy after playing all their matches camped out in Dubai – Booth also notes that with Shah’s promotion to the hotseat of the International Cricket Council (ICC), India’s monopoly over world cricket is growing at a concerning level.
“The communal shrug (that met Shah’s appointment) confirmed a sorry truth: 2024 was the year cricket gave up any claim to being properly administered, with checks, balances, and governance for the many, not the few,” he wrote.
