Cricket needs 'context and relevance': CEO

A Test Championship and new leagues for one-day and Twenty20 cricket could be introduced following the 2019 World Cup.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland detailed the current thinking at the governing body's annual general meeting in Melbourne today, where CA announced an annual surplus of $9.7m.

Sutherland said it was necessary to create "relevance and context for every single match" of international cricket, with proposals being developed that will be presented to the International Cricket Council's board in February.

"We certainly believe additional structure, moving towards a Test championship of one form or another, probably on a two-year cycle would be a real positive," Sutherland said.

"The (proposal) that is floating about at moment is two conferences and perhaps matches being played inside conferences, with a little bit of cross-conference activity as well, inside of that two-year period, then having a champion team in each conference play off in a two-year cycle.

"I think there's some real merit in that. I don't think it significantly undermines some of the traditional series that are played, and I think all in all its very positive where every match, and every series would count.

"With one-day and T20 cricket we are contemplating a 13-team league where everyone plays each other, home or away, in a three-match series over the course of a three-year period.

"That means you play six one-day matches away and six at home every year with a similar structure for T20.

"That's something that would be really beneficial for world cricket, not just for putting those limits in place but making sure there's real context and relevance to every match.

"Under this structure, the Australian cricket team would play less cricket, while others would play more and that's a positive as well."

Scheduling has come under fire from some quarters in recent times after it was revealed the Board of Control for Cricket in India had scheduled the first Test against Australia to start the day after Australia's T20 side would play the final match of their home series against Sri Lanka.

That scheduling crunch means Australia's leading multi-format stars such as Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc would miss the T20 series due to their Test preparations.

Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin today said that schedule crunch could play to Australia's advantage.

"That means they (selectors) will have to pick the best Twenty20 players who perform well in Big Bash, without the Test players there," Haddin told Sky Sports Radio.

"You give a couple of those guys an opportunity who perform well in Big Bash to play on the international stage – that might be something Australia can look at going forward."

Sutherland said the Australia team had an average of 80 days of international cricket scheduled over the past decade, whereas it was 83 the decade before that.

However, the Indian Premier League, which will play its tenth season next April and May, has seen the international calendar compressed.

Sutherland said the dedicated window for the IPL was "a pretty generous concession" from ICC members but other international tournaments – including CA's KFC Big Bash League – would not get the same luxury.

"We see the IPL as something we don't want to stand in way of, and it's a great opportunity for players," Sutherland said.

"Our perspective is the IPL is unique, then there's all other domestic T20 competitions around world.

"International cricket comes first and is the absolute priority. We've been true to that in terms of the way we schedule the BBL."

Any change to the structure of international cricket must first be approved by the ICC members, with resistance from some quarters having already seen a proposed two-tier system scrapped. Sutherland admitted there was still "lots of growing, understanding and comfort" that needed to occur.

"It's change, and it's a significant difference in the way that the game is played," he said.

"For those countries that at times find it difficult to find countries to tour, or countries to tour them, the positive in this is that the structure means countries have to play them and they'll play more cricket.

"That will allow them the opportunities to improve their game and greater opportunities to exploit commercial opportunities in their own market."

With the current Future Tours Programme locked in, the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales presented a "line in the sand" for cricket to move in a new direction.

"There's a little bit of a lead time involved because of pre-existing contracts and things like that," Sutherland said.

"But certainly the planning is very heavily focussed on a line in the sand around the 2019 World Cup.

"We see post that there is an opportunity to roll into a new structure for the three formats."

Other highlights to emerge from the AGM include figures that more than 1.7 million Australians attended international cricket, the KFC Big Bash League and the Rebel Women’s Big Bash League during 2015-16, making it the country’s most attended cricket season on record.

Cricket also had more than 1.3 million participants last year, an increase of 8.5 per cent on the previous year to place the game as the number one participation sport in Australia. Nearly a quarter of all participants were female.