One-day cricket set for major revamp

One-day international cricket could be completely revamped under a proposal from the International Cricket Council.

The plans, set to be discussed at the ICC’s annual general meeting this month, would see a new league of 13 teams introduced to give greater context and relevance to 50-over contests.

Under the proposal, which could begin as soon as 2019, each of the 13 teams would play a three-match series, either home or away, against every other country over a three-year period.

At the end of the championship, the top two teams could play off in a final.

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Should the proposal go ahead, it could see Australia play more regular matches against associate nations including Afghanistan and Ireland.

The current ICC one-day rankings table features 12 teams – the 10 full member nations plus Ireland and Afghanistan.

The 13th side could be determined by the outcome of the 2015-17 World Cricket League Championship - the second tier of one-day cricket – a competition currently led by the Netherlands, while other teams include Scotland, Nepal, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. 

The league would also be used to determine qualification for the World Cup, as well as the seedings of teams.

The team finishing on the bottom of the table could also face relegation to the WCLC.

Countries would be free to schedule more than three ODIs, but additional matches would not count towards the standings on the league table.

A similar system is already in place for women’s cricket.

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The first Women’s One-Day Championship kicked off in 2014 and will come to a head later this year, with Australia currently in the box seat to claim the inaugural title.

Under the women’s system, which features eight teams, the top four ranked teams at the end of 2016 will earn automatic qualification to the 2017 World Cup in England, with the remaining four teams to play off against top associate nations for a place in the tournament.

It follows plans from the ICC to revamp Test cricket, which could see the top seven Test nations competing in division one for the title of world Test champion. 

The second tier would be expanded to five teams (with inclusion in that division earned by the best performed associate nations) with promotion and relegation opportunities being decided across the concept's two-year playing cycle.

Both plans will be discussed at the ICC’s annual conference, which begins in Edinburgh at the end of the month.