The approval of ‘Meritocratic pathway for Test cricket’ by the ICC (International Cricket Council) in their board meeting yesterday opened doors for the Associate sides to try out their luck in the Test circuit.
But at the same time it also meant Bangladesh, the bottom ranked Test team in 10th place, will have to improve their ranking in next two years to avoid any odds of losing the status they obtained 14 years back.
The ICC approved the introduction of an ICC Test Challenge which will take place every four years between the lowest ranked Test team and the winner of the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
According to the proposal the 10th team on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings on 31 December 2017, or at the conclusion of any series in progress at that time, will play four five-day matches, home and away basis, against the winner of the upcoming ICC Intercontinental Cup, with the inaugural Challenge scheduled to take place in 2018.
In the next eight years, two ICC Intercontinental Cup tournaments are planned with the first to run from 2015 to 2017 and the second to be held between 2019 and 2021. The second ICC Test Challenge is scheduled for 2022.
“The ICC Test Challenge now opens the door for Associate Members to play Test cricket and in doing so gives even greater context to the ICC Intercontinental Cup which will now be a pathway to Test cricket,” said the ICC chief executive David Richardson in a media release yesterday.
Bangladesh lost the 9th position in the Test rankings after Zimbabwe hopped over them in September 2013. Zimbabwe had returned to the Test arena after five years to draw two-match Test series against Pakistan, which had also cost Pakistan’s rating points. They went down from fourth to sixth position.
The most recent International Cup, played between June 2011 and December 2013, featured eight associate members - Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland, United Arab Emirates, Namibia, Canada, Kenya and Netherlands.
Ireland have won four of the five tournaments held since 2004 while Afghanistan won it in 2010.
