In modern day cricket, the fans enjoy the shorter versions of the game more than Test cricket. After the start of T20 cricket, Test cricket has struggled to keep its interest alive in the international arena. However the International Cricket Council (ICC) is now eying to start a Test World Championship. The ICC is planning the tournament in June 2013 in a bid to revive the flagging interest in Test match cricket. The ICC Chief, Haroon Lorgat in an interview to Australian radio said that the Championship would be played according to the current rankings of the teams in Test match cricket.According to this ranking system, the points are given to the teams according to the series in which they play against other opponents. However, unlike T20 and ODI cricket, Test match cricket lacks a mega tournament which can decide the top Test cricketing nation. The ICC is now planning to arrange such a tournament which would be good and challenging for the teams.
The ICC is considering a four nations play-off in which the top four Test teams would be battling in the semi-finals before playing the final for the title. This step would improve the level of interest and rivalry amongst teams. Some teams would also look to improve their rankings in order to make it through to the play-offs.
The Australian team and the English team will be fighting even harder to jump in the top four teams or retain their position in the top four. This will make the Ashes series even more interesting and the teams will battle harder against each other. This can also add to the pressure on the teams who will be battling to be in the top four in Test match cricket.
There are many possibilities which are being considered before something is finalized. One concern is that the finals might end in a draw. To avoid that, the ICC is considering a timeless Test match for having a result in the match. Things like this would make Test cricket livelier when the viewers will be certain of a result at the end of the match.
On the other hand, the ICC Chief Haroon Lorgat also confirmed the venue for the 2015 ODI World Cup. He stated that the World Cup would be hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The total number of teams participating would be ten rather than the fourteen teams which will be participating in the 2011 World Cup. This would also make things challenging for the lower ranked teams to make it through to the World Cup in 2015.
The T20 World cup hosts have also been decided by the ICC. The World Cup will be held in Sri-Lanka in 2012. Haroon Lorgat said that the Wrld Cup should be a tournament only for the top teams.
