Bangladesh’s Test future is secure for now as the ICC has shelved plans for a two-tier Test system to give England, India and Australia more control of cricket.
Bangladesh and several other countries staunchly opposed the proposals with promotion and relegation, with those three nations immune from relegation.
The ‘controversial’ 21-page “position paper” by the three influential boards to revamp the International Cricket Council was not put to vote on Tuesday.
The draft proposals were put on the back burner following a six-hour ‘heated’ meeting by the Test nations’ boards in Dubai, with four boards vehemently opposing it, according to espncricinfo.com.
A follow-up meeting will be held to discuss the proposals again next month.
The ICC in a media release said the Executive Board unanimously agreed that there will be an opportunity for all members to play all formats of cricket on merit, with participation based on meritocracy.
There will be no immunity to any country, and no change to membership status, it added.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is among those who opposed the plan of the ‘Big Three’, its media committee Chairman Jalal Yunus confirmed.
The proposals, drafted by the ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee and leaked to the media last week, suggest the formation of a four-man executive committee, on which the boards of England, India and Australia would be guaranteed a place.
The other position would be selected by the three boards annually.
England, Australia and India, the most financially powerful Test-playing nations, plan to form a new executive board in charge of running the game.
There are seven other Test-playing nations, but only one of these will sit on the board, on a rotating basis, at any one time. The new executive will have wide-ranging, potentially limitless, decision-making powers.
All the money in Test cricket will be divided up differently, with the bigger nations getting more of the pie. Because the biggest cash generators deserve access to a greater proportion of the game’s profits, according to the draft proposal.
Promotion and relegation will part of a two-tier Test system. Potentially England, Australia and India would be excluded from relegation to the second division and would therefore be guaranteed lucrative Test series against each other.
Boards will no longer be duty-bound to fulfil financially “unviable” tours or fixtures, such as the big teams visiting smaller nations.
This means scrapping the Future Tours Programme, which currently guarantees regular fixtures between all full ICC members over a cycle.
Source: Bd news24
