LAHORE: The International Cricket Council is eyeing June 2013 for the inaugural Test World Championship and will use current rankings to decide the four playoff spots, CEO Haroon Lorgat was quoted by Australian radio on Sunday.
The ICC has proposed a quadrennial tournament with the four best-performing teams to meet in the semi-finals before playing off for the world title in a bid to boost flagging interest in the longest form of the sport.
“I think the first possible opportunity for us to have a playoff is in 2013, which means that the current rankings table would need to be used,” Lorgat said.
“Going forward, we’re looking at a league table that would be worked on points and match winnings,” Lorgat said, but details on how to treat draws, which occur regularly in Test cricket, were yet to be decided.
“There’s the possibility of the timeless test, you’ve got to get to a result,” Lorgat added. Lorgat also confirmed the 2015 ODI World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand would feature 10 teams instead of 14, while the biennial T20 World Cup tournament would be expanded from 12 to 16 teams.
“In my view (the Twenty20 World Cup) is a better vehicle to develop the game, whereas the World Cup should be the flagship event,” he said.
