MCC World Cricket Committee Approves application submission to include Cricket in Olympics

MCC World Cricket Committee
Approves application submission to include Cricket in Olympics
Test Cricket Championship should be every two years
Restrict the T20 Domestic Leagues to save the test cricketers
Bat Size and DRS review also discussed (Umpires call not lost the chance)

Current Line (London)

The MCC World Cricket committee recommends ICC to submit application for inclusion of Cricket in Olympics 2024 for which ICC will submit application in September 2017.  

Indian cricketing star Saurave Ganguly opposed this as per his discussions and suggestions from BCCI opposed it but other members in favor of inclusion oc Cricket in Olympics. MCC cricket committee also approves new Cricket laws and recommends ICC for Impositions on Domestic Cricket structure of member countries to restrict the domestic T20 leagues.

The next meeting will be held in Sydney on 9 and 10 January under the new head Mike Getting

As per the MCC release the following are the outcomes and decisions were taken in the two days meeting

·         Committee suggests rethink of distribution model in international cricket

·         Sub-group formed in order to help focus on protecting and sustaining the future of Test cricket

·         Tests recommended to remain five days

·         Strong support for the inclusion of cricket in the Olympic Games

·         Support for the ICC Cricket committee’s changes to DRS

·         Charlotte Edwards to step down from committee, to be replaced by Suzie Bates

·         Committee to take leadership on sustainability in cricket

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and current England player Jonny Bairstow were present for certain parts of the meeting having been invited to address the committee.

MCC Head of Cricket John Stephenson thanked outgoing Chairman Mike Brearley for his outstanding contribution to the World Cricket committee. Brearley, who has been part of the committee since its inception in 2006, replaced Tony Lewis as Chairman in 2011.

Another former England captain, Mike Gatting, will replace Brearley in the role in October when his term comes to an end.

Stephenson said: “MCC is rightfully proud of the accomplishments of the World Cricket committee under Mike Brearley’s leadership, and his unquestioned wealth of cricket knowledge, coupled with his humility and intellect, has made him a pleasure for everyone on the committee and at MCC to work with.

"His qualities are irreplaceable but the Club is fortunate to have in Mike Gatting someone who will bring passion, enthusiasm and an equally extraordinary depth of cricket knowledge to the role”.

Committee suggests rethink of distribution model in international cricket

The balance between bat and ball has long been a subject on the committee’s agenda, but the balance between the better off and other leading cricketing nations is arguably a bigger challenge. For international cricket to flourish, competitive levels need to be close, and teams need to be able to field their best players.

The committee is worried that with the spread of privately owned T20 leagues, and the rapid increase in remuneration (recent and anticipated), more players, especially from countries lacking the funds to pay their top players well, will choose these domestic tournaments ahead of making themselves available for their countries. T

he more this happens, the greater the threat to international cricket, not only to Test cricket, but also to ODIs and T20s.

The committee believes that the current distribution model will, if unchanged, see the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. People now talk about the need for a window for international and Test cricket, rather than a window for domestic T20 leagues. What the committee suggests may prove to be too idealistic; we are asking the richer countries to give up some funding in the long-term interest of cricket as a whole.

Accountability and governance in individual countries remain fundamental issues, and funds must not be distributed without the right checks and balances in place, but cricket could soon reach a point of no return. The game needs the best cricketers playing international cricket and the current structure of the game may not provide this.

Test Cricket needs attention but should be celebrated

The MCC World Cricket committee believes the game has not done enough to protect, preserve and encourage Test cricket around the world. Test cricket is not at crisis point, but in some parts of the world there is a perception that this is the case.

The committee is encouraged that ICC has once again proposed to introduce a World Test Championship, to provide greater context and marketing opportunities for the five day game, and offers its full support to launch this competition.

The creation of a World Test League with a Championship Final every two years can help the game to protect itself and sustain it into the future. Test match cricket is still the greatest challenge in the sport; it is the ultimate stage, and mentally the toughest format of the game to excel in. The sport needs to celebrate its teams and players, and their achievements. At present, this happens around the world in T20 and 50 over cricket, but less so in Test cricket.

The ICC recently confirmed that they are planning to conduct research into how the game can make Test cricket more appealing and interesting to a wider audience. The MCC World Cricket committee has offered to support the ICC in helping to shape this research.

In addition, the committee confirmed it will be forming a new sub-group, led by incoming Chairman Mike Gatting, which will focus on what cricket lovers, players and broadcasters most want from Test cricket.

For instance, it is not clear how cricket-lovers would react to the idea of four-day Tests. It will do this by speaking to current players about their own views and broadcasters about their attitudes to Test cricket. It is hoped that this research, together with consultation with ICC, will help contribute to the future health of the longest form of the game.

The Committee is aware of the gradual encroachment of domestic T20 leagues into cricket’s schedule, and the threat this poses to Test cricket. Whereas a few years ago ICC was willing to accept a window for the Indian Premier League, now the question is: “do we need windows for Test cricket?”

The Committee is well aware of the difficulties facing ICC in this and agree with ICC’s efforts to create context for Test cricket, as described above and in their encouragement of and experimentation with day-night Test matches. Other suggestions include getting together with sponsors and broadcasters to make every effort to fill grounds for Tests.

A principal conclusion from the debate was that there must be efforts made to reduce the earnings gap between playing Test cricket and gaining T20 contracts, and between the earnings of Test cricketers in different countries. The committee also believes that Test cricket needs to be built up and celebrated for what it is. On the field, despite the difficulties, Test cricket has been vigorous, robust and full of excellent cricket.

In its last meeting in Mumbai, the committee was split down the middle on the issue of whether to introduce four-day Tests. At Lord’s, the meeting was strongly in favour of retaining five-day Test matches, though there was a minority who would like to see four-day Tests tried out, perhaps in particular for those in the day-night format.

Unified front pivotal to Olympics cricket bid

The MCC World Cricket committee maintains its strong support for the inclusion of cricket to be included in the Olympic Games, having already affirmed its position on the concept in previous meetings. The committee believes that now is the right time for cricket to move in line with other major global sports and be played in the Olympics, and understands that the vast majority of countries now fully support this concept.

The committee hopes ICC will present a unified front in applying to the 2024 host city to include cricket in their games. The deadline to apply to the International Olympic Committee for cricket’s inclusion passed in May 2017, so communication now must be sought with the host city directly in order for cricket to be included. The 2024 games are to be held in either Los Angeles or Paris.

The committee is encouraged that in recent years, many more figureheads within the game have added their support to this movement. The committee believes that not only will the global game benefit as a result of cricket being included in the Olympics, but that each country will benefit in a great way, including within India.

Charlotte Edwards to be replaced by Suzie Bates on committee

In line with the rotation policy of the MCC World Cricket committee, former England captain Charlotte Edwards is stepping down from the committee. She was the first Women’s cricket representative to sit on the group, and has served for the past five years.

Edwards made a statement to the committee outlining the successful evolution that Women’s cricket has enjoyed over the past few years and detailing the fact that the ICC Women’s Championship has been one of the many positive introductions to Women’s cricket, including the Kia Super League and the Women’s Big Bash League.

The personal highlight of her time with the committee was the introduction of Day-Night Test cricket, which the MCC World Cricket committee played an instrumental role in introducing to the game, and she has no doubt that the committee will continue to play a key role at being at the heart of every decision made for the good of the game.

Edwards will be replaced on the committee by New Zealand Women’s captain Suzie Bates. The 29 year-old recently played her 100th one-day international for the White Ferns in the ICC Women’s World Cup match with Australia at Bristol. She was named Wisden’s leading Women’s cricketer in the world at the end of 2015 and is among the first women from New Zealand to be have been able to consider themselves a full-time cricketer.

Committee supports concussion replacement trials

The MCC World Cricket committee supports ICC’s recommendation that National Governing Bodies be able to experiment with trials to allow fully participating replacements following a concussion injury, without jeopardising first-class status. 

MCC has studied this area very closely and decided not to alter the Laws of Cricket, which apply to all levels of the game, to allow for concussion to be treated differently from any other injury.  The principle reasons for this are:

• Very few cricket matches are overseen by medically trained personnel capable of diagnosing a concussion.

• Umpires should not be placed in a situation of having to make a diagnosis.

• The Laws allow a replacement player, with the opposing captain’s consent. It is believed that, in amateur cricket at least, this would not normally be withheld after a serious head injury.

• In most cricket, a replacement player is likely to be weaker and so the opposition captain is more likely to grant consent.

• The trouble with finding a ‘like-for-like’ replacement.

The benefits of allowing concussion replacements are that player welfare is looked after and a player won’t feel forced to carry on, for the good of the team, following a concussion. 

A concussed player cannot make a rational decision over his/her fitness to play. In fact, a common symptom of concussion is a belief that you are not injured. This is different from other injuries, where self-diagnosis is done.

The committee calls for National Governing Bodies to ensure that players and officials at all levels of the game are educated on the risks of concussion.  A ‘safety-first’ attitude towards suspected concussions should be taken.  MCC offers its support to work with any Governing Body on the framing of playing regulations in this area and will continue to monitor this area of the Law.

Technology in Cricket

The MCC World Cricket Committee supports the recent changes recommended by the ICC Cricket committee to the Decision Review System. This reaffirms the support which was proposed at its previous meeting, held in Mumbai last December.

The ICC Cricket committee recommended that, when a side reviews an LBW that is shown to be umpire’s call, it will remain not out but they won’t lose a review. The MCC World Cricket committee had previously suggested this for reviews by the fielding side, but ICC’s plans for the same principle to be applied to both teams felt, on balance, to be the best solution.

Laws of Cricket

The MCC World Cricket committee was pleased to hear that the ICC has agreed to incorporate the vast majority of the Law changes into their Playing Regulations from 1st October.

The committee has had a considerable input into the shaping of the revised Laws and was particularly delighted that the new limits to bat sizes and the ability to send a player off for violent conduct will be part of the ICC’s new playing regulations.

The redrafting of the Laws has been a three-year process, involving a global consultation and work of various MCC committees. The new Code replaces the 2000 Code, which had six editions in its 17-year lifespan.

Cricket should lead on sustainability

The MCC World Cricket committee believes cricket should recognise it has an impact on the environment but also, importantly, that changes to the environment will have a substantial impact on the global game and on cricket playing nations.

The Committee recognises too that this subject is peripheral to its main remit, but hopes that MCC continues to promote sustainable development and measures that attempt to lessen climate change.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the MCC World Cricket committee will take place in Sydney on Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th January 2018.