World Cricketers’ Association calls for radical reform of ‘chaotic and confusing’ schedule

The players’ body has hit out at the demands placed on cricketers by an ever more congested calendar

The players’ body has called for calendar reform (PA Wire)

The World Cricketers' Association has issued a stark warning about the future of international cricket, calling for defined windows in the calendar, fairer distribution of wealth and an overhaul of leadership.

The global players' union has published a wide-ranging review, six months in the making, taking in the views of current and former professionals, administrators and commercial stakeholders.

It concludes the increasing stranglehold of T20 franchise cricket is putting the "chaotic, inconsistent and confusing" international schedule "at genuine risk".

It offers potential solutions, most strikingly throwing its weight behind a complete revamp of the current future tours programme, an unbalanced mechanism that dictates the bilateral obligations for each country and allows for huge disparities.

The WCA calls for four distinct international windows each year, alongside divisional structures for all three formats, taking in promotion and relegation based on results and feeding into World Cup qualification.

The new plans are proposed to take effect in men's cricket from 2028 and women's cricket in 2029 - when the existing FTPs expire.

The intention is to allow the international arena "to co-exist with the growing T20 leagues rather than compete with them, thereby ensuring its future survival".

Outside of the agreed blocks of time, the domestic circuit would be free "to continue to evolve and innovate".

Paul Marsh, chair of the sub-committee who produced the report, said: "Whilst there are a number of positive trends in cricket, there is no doubt that global cricket is at an inflection point.

The proliferation of T20 franchise leagues is placing further pressures on the cricket calendar (Getty Images)

"Many of the issues highlighted in the report are challenging, but they need to be discussed if we are to create a more sustainable future in more than just a few countries.

"Creating a clearer global calendar and incorporating more consistency across formats along with greater competition integrity and context for international cricket, will benefit cricket and all of its stakeholders hugely."

Other suggestions include a centralised fund of global growth and development fund to support elite cricket and a new revenue model to combat the current financial dominance of India, England and Australia.

That is currently agreed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) - which is itself targeted in the document.

The WCA argues the ICC must be modernised around principles of "shared ownership, independence, and representation reflective of the whole sport".

WCA chair Heath Mills, a former New Zealand international, added: "This process has brought to light an almost game wide appetite for change and a need to address the significant issues with the game's global structure.

"Whilst there is no silver bullet, the report defines the trends, and major issues facing the sport at global level, along with some recommended solutions, intended to be both aspirational and realistic."

PA