As Ireland and Afghanistan were confirmed as Full Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) after a unanimous vote at the ICC Full Council meeting at the Oval on Thursday, efforts to contextualize the international cricket are step closer to reality. After confirming the Test status of those two countries, the ICC's chief executives committee (CEC) has worked out a viable schedule for a Test and ODI league.The proposal is known as option C that includes a rolling Test league starting in 2019, in which the top-nine Test teams will play 12 Test series on a home-and-away basis over four years. The Test league, as it stands, does not have any space for either Ireland or Afghanistan; Zimbabwe, the lowest-ranked Test side currently, will also not be part of the league.The proposal also contains an ODI league of the top 13 teams to be played over two years from 2020. The proposal however indicates the two-step Test theory for what the ICC has been working out for a long. But those who doubts that the Test status achieved by Afghanistan and Ireland would impact Bangladesh negatively, the proposed Test league proved, it is a wrong thinking.Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is also unfazed by the full member status achieved by Afghanistan and Ireland.The BCB rather congratulated those two nations on their status, saying it would make the game popular around the world.“We are waiting. The president is in meeting and after he comes there will be official comment on that. We however congratulate Afghanistan and Ireland on their achievement,” said BCB media and communications committee chairman Jalal Yunus.However Option C now awaits ratification by the ICC Board which met yesterday. Till filing of this report, the outcome of the meeting is yet to be informed.The new Test League is likely to start immediately after the 2019 World Cup and will run till the beginning of the 2023 World Cup. It will conclude with a play-off between the top two teams at the end of the cycle.Under the proposal, each country is allowed to play a maximum of 12 Test series - with a minimum of two Test matches per series - over the four-year cycle. Half of the series will be at home, half away. In any given year, one side will play two home series but only one the following year (three home series in two years, or six in four).Twelve Test series over four years is not far off from what Full Members played in a four-year stretch from 2011-15: Australia played 12, England 13, India 12, South Africa 12, New Zealand 16, West Indies 13, Pakistan 14, Sri Lanka 14, Zimbabwe 9 and Bangladesh 10.
Meanwhile, neither Ireland or Afghanistan, who were granted Test status on Thursday, and Zimbabwe will feature in this Test league. They may, however, organise Tests against each other and against the other nine if they can find a window for it. Both new Test entrants will however be part of the 13-team ODI league expected to start in 2020. The 13th team will be determined according to the rankings as per a cut-off date specified by the ICC.
The 13-team ODI league for World Cup qualifying will be condensed into two years instead of three. That would mean each team will only play eight opponents instead of all 12. David Richardson, the ICC CEO, said they were still formulating as to which eight opponents each team plays to make it "as fair as possible".