Last Updated:January 26, 2025, 15:47 IST

Ian Chappell criticized the ICC for letting powerful cricket boards dominate scheduling. He questioned Test status for Ireland and Afghanistan and called for ICC reforms.

The former Australian skipper, Ian Chappell has slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for allowing the financially stronger cricket boards to have their way with the scheduling of matches and having a bigger say.

Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo, called for a change in the ICC’s approach or the bigger cricket boards will continue to have their way and produce schedules which serve their best interests.

“The ICC doesn’t run cricket, and unless there’s a major change of heart, the financially desirable nations will continue to have a huge say in producing a self-serving schedule,” he wrote.

“Cricket being run by a competent ICC is a pipe dream. Hence the growing T20 calendar and the current scheduling schemozzle that plagues the game,” he added.

Chappell also highlighted how the ICC failed to tackle the issue of slow over-rates in the modern game. He sees the lack of measures being taken for inconveniences like these as detrimental to the long-term picture for the sport of cricket.

“Nevertheless, unless some issues, including a reasonable schedule and the criminally slow speed of play (which creates notoriously poor over rates), are critically addressed, Test cricket will struggle to attract younger audiences,” Chappell shared.

He referred to how Test status was being given to the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan where he questioned both nations’ infrastructure to continue to compete in the longer format. He suggested that criteria like a viable domestic structure in addition to adequate stadiums to host these games as well.

“It’s extremely expensive to run a four-day competition, and therefore not many beyond the big three can really afford the burden. It’s one reason why T20 cricket flourishes. Running a successful T20 competition improves the financial capacity of a cricket body,” Chappel questioned.

“This, along with running a successful T20 competition being vastly more acceptable than losing money on a first-class schedule, dominates the thinking of most cricket administrators,” he added.

While Chappell advocates for a two-tiered structure for the longest format, he reckons that there are other pressing matters that the ICC needs to tend to at the moment and called for the global cricketing body to take charge in order to protect the sport.

Cricket administration is difficult. However, in addition to producing a viable two-tier system, other pressing matters need urgent attention if Test cricket is to improve its relevance in the wider sporting world.