Thursday 29 July 2010

An annual Test championship ‘grand final’ and something similar for international one-day cricket could soon receive the green light.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland is confident the Test championship in particular will be implemented soon.

''I think it's imminent,'' Sutherland told The Sydney Morning Herald. ''There are discussions around context that include a league Test championship and also one-day leagues and context around one-day cricket which we think one-day cricket will significantly benefit from.''

According to the Herald, a system mooted by former Kiwi great Martin Crowe would see teams gain points for each Test they win and bonuses for large victories, which would be charted on a ladder to determine the top two sides in the world after an allocated season.

Crowe is a member of the MCC's world cricket committee.

The championship would ensure points were on the line in ‘dead-rubber’ matches.

''A Test championship is a good initiative and brings a climax and a big global event around Test cricket,'' Sutherland said.

He added the grand final could be held at a neutral venue, and if there was only room for one match, it could be a timeless Test or run over six days to maximise chances of a result.

''The top two ranked teams could play off against each other in a three-match series or a one-match series at a neutral venue in a timeless Test or maybe six days,'' Sutherland said.

''You can develop something that's more fulsome, with a perfect league where everyone plays each other in a three-Test series over two or three years but practically that's not going to happen.

“There will be other ways of determining who the top teams are and how they play off.

“Over a three-week period you could play semi-finals and a final.

“That's another option but I don't think we're quite at that stage yet. We're still nutting out the details of the concept.''