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The International Cricket Council (ICC) is considering introducing a dedicated fund starting in 2025 to bolster Test cricket, enabling countries outside the "Big Three" (India, Australia, England) to better compete with lucrative franchise leagues. The initiative, primarily driven by Cricket Australia chair Mark Baird and supported by the BCCI and ECB, aims to establish a central fund that would provide a minimum standard match fee for players, reportedly around US $10,000 (approximately 7,600 pound). The goal is to finalize the proposal by Christmas, allowing it to be implemented next year.
This initiative is intended to make Test cricket more appealing to players who often choose shorter formats for higher earnings.
It would also help financially constrained cricket boards cover the costs associated with red-ball cricket, which often operates at a loss for the nine Test-playing nations outside the Big Three.
For example, Cricket West Indies' outgoing CEO, Johnny Grave, disclosed that their tour of Australia earlier this year cost the board US $2 million.
The proposed fund, expected to be about US $15 million (approximately £11 million), has garnered the support of BCCI secretary Jay Shah and ECB chair Richard Thompson.
Although it is still in the early stages and has yet to be formally discussed by the ICC board or its executive committee, Baird remains optimistic.
He told the Sydney Morning Herald, "It's fantastic to see some momentum behind the Test-match fund," as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"We need to remove the barriers and ensure Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport, preserving its history and legacy alongside the newer white-ball formats," he said.
In a related effort to support financially struggling cricket boards, ECB chief executive Richard Gould announced that Zimbabwe would receive a "touring fee" for their one-off Test at Trent Bridge next May.
This marks a concrete step towards implementing Gould's idea, suggested a year earlier, of host countries paying fees to visiting teams.
The global cricket landscape is economically imbalanced, with some boards already engaging in reciprocal agreements.
For instance, the ECB agreed to play three additional T20 internationals during their 2023 limited-overs tour of the Caribbean, which generated significant revenue for the region.
To further support the West Indies, the ECB will facilitate a tour of the UK by the West Indies Under-19 team, as a goodwill gesture following the West Indies Test series in England last month.
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