ECB supports world Test play-off

Could the Ashes become part of a world Test championship?

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) says it supports the idea of a play-off to decide a world Test championship.

A play-off would feature either a single match or short series between two highest-ranked Test nations.

That differs from International Cricket Council (ICC) plans to hold a series of matches over four years culminating in semi-finals and a final.

The ICC had said the ECB was against the idea of a world Test championship, a claim the ECB has denied.

ECB chief executive David Collier said the ECB backs the idea, though not the proposed format or time frame.

"England has consistently stated it supports a play-off for a Test Championship," he said.

"Indeed [ICC chief executive] Haroon Lorgat's own staff have approached ECB in the past month to stage the final in England which was warmly received and supported by ECB.

ECB has been reassured by correspondence from the ICC chief executive in which he tells us that he is unhappy at the slant put on his comments

ECB statement

"The original proposal from ICC for a two-year cycle with two years of an uncertain fixture programme in regard to the Test Championship would have been detrimental to Test cricket and ECB's prime consideration is to ensure that Test cricket is at the pinnacle of the world game."

Cricket's governing body has been looking into ways of increasing the popularity of Test cricket, whose future is threatened by the rise of the Twenty20 game.

However, the ECB is concerned that altering the Test calendar could devalue flagship series like the Ashes, and could lead to lucrative series against the likes of Australia and India being shortened to accommodate matches against lesser Test nations such as Bangladesh.

The proposed starting date of 2012 could clash with the London Olympics.

But the ICC is determined to push the plan through in order to give greater importance to every Test series.

606: DEBATE

Should there be a world Test championship?

"I would like to convince people that the way to ensure Test cricket survives is through a championship model," Lorgat told the Guardian.

"The only two countries who do not see the argument are India and England, but debate is growing all the time.

"The MCC seem to have come out in favour but when I met the ECB recently it was the wrong time to tackle them in detail. They were too high on the Ashes."

However, the ECB statement said: "ECB has been reassured by correspondence from the ICC chief executive in which he tells us that he is unhappy at the slant put on his comments.

"He also confirmed that he had been at pains to communicate to journalists why there were justifiable concerns about the original proposal for a Test Championship which had been found to be unworkable and therefore this is the reason the play-off concept proposed by the ECB is now being pursued by ICC."

While Test matches in England regularly attract full houses, attendances in most other Test-playing nations have been falling.

There is also concern about the increasing ambivalence towards Test cricket among players from certain nations.

An MCC survey among professional cricketers around the world revealed players coveted a lucrative Twenty20 deal with an Indian Premier League team above any other achievement.

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff recently retired from Test cricket, and rejected an England central contract in a bid to maximise his earnings from limited-overs cricket around the world.

"There's no doubt a Test championship would be of great benefit," added Lorgat.

"Let's say you and your mate are South African and Australian - and India are about to play Sri Lanka. If the result impacts on your team's championship standing you are bound to be more interested."