Not for the first time, cricket finds itself at a crossroads, torn between those who fear for the future of Tests and those who see the white-ball game as the way ahead. 

Here, Inside Cricket looks at eight big questions for the global game:

1. What happens if the IPL expands again?

In 2022, the world’s most prestigious Twenty20 franchise tournament grew to 74 matches thanks to the inclusion of two new teams.

Now, there is talk of expanding to 94 in time for 2028, allowing an all-play-all, home-and-away arrangement.

But the case of Jacob Bethell – who will stay with Royal Challengers Bengaluru rather than play for England against Zimbabwe – is a cautionary tale.

If the IPL grows again, eating deeper into the English summer, such clashes will become more common, leaving the ECB with a choice: negotiate a special opt-out clause for their Test players, or risk devaluing the format that – in this country at least – still pays the bills.

There is talk of expanding the Indian Premier League to 94 matches in time for the 2028 season

There is talk of expanding the Indian Premier League to 94 matches in time for the 2028 season

Jacob Bethell has put his Test career on the back burner in favour of his IPL contract

Jacob Bethell has put his Test career on the back burner in favour of his IPL contract

2. Should Test cricket split into two divisions?

If this happens, it would reinforce the gap between the haves and the have-nots, and hasten the demise of Test cricket in places such as West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Australia, in particular, are keen to wring every last dollar out of five-match series against India and England, ensuring reciprocal fixtures every three years rather than every four. And how dull would that be?

Two-tier Test cricket would hasten the demise of countries who are already more competitive than many realise - as shown by Sri Lanka's win at the Oval last year

Two-tier Test cricket would hasten the demise of countries who are already more competitive than many realise – as shown by Sri Lanka’s win at the Oval last year

New Zealand stunned India with a 3-0 whitewash on foreign soil at the end of 2024

New Zealand stunned India with a 3-0 whitewash on foreign soil at the end of 2024

Better, surely, to invest properly in a format that is more competitive than many realise: witness West Indies’ win at Brisbane at last year, Bangladesh’s win in Pakistan, Sri Lanka’s win at the Oval, New Zealand’s 3-0 win in India, West Indies’ win at Multan.

If you sacrifice those teams on the altar of maximising value for the stakeholders, or however the capitalists put it, then the international game will lose the flavour and texture that make it so rich.

3. How about tidying up the World Test Championship?

Actually, that’s a polite way of putting it: the WTC is an embarrassment. No self-respecting league table involves teams playing a different number of matches against different teams over different length series.

Yes, cricket needs a WTC. But it must be simple to follow: symmetrical, all play all, and with a points system that doesn’t require Enigma to do the sums.

And if that means extending the competition to four years instead of two, so be it. Football and rugby make this work, so why can’t cricket?

4. Can the money be shared more equitably?

Two years ago, the ICC changed their distribution model of funds generated by their global events, increasing India’s share from less than 25% to more than 38%. (Next in the queue are England, with less than 7%.)

Many in India believe they deserve even more, since they generate at least four-fifths of the game’s global revenues.

ICC chairman Jay Shah (pictured right with Rohit Sharma) was formerly BCCI president

ICC chairman Jay Shah (pictured right with Rohit Sharma) was formerly BCCI president

Yet if cricket continues to reward India simply on the basis of its vast TV audience, there will be nothing left in the pot for the smaller nations, with inevitable consequences.

There has been talk for a while of a global Test match fund, but the suggested figure – £11.25m – is chicken feed. For context, India’s 38% equates to around £172.6m. And their most recent deal for IPL rights netted them £4.5bn.

Even a small readjustment in the distribution model would mean everything to the likes of West Indies and New Zealand. A similar point was made recently by the World Cricketers’ Association, only to be greeted with off-the-record derision by Indian officials.

5. Will India and Pakistan ever play Test cricket against each other again?

The terrorist atrocity in Indian-administered Kashmir has turned an already distant prospect into a speck on the horizon.

Yet even while the last Test between the sides took place in December 2007, they have continued to meet in World Cups, where they are routinely placed in the same group to keep TV happy.

India and Pakistan have not played a Test series since 2007

India and Pakistan have not played a Test series since 2007

But they have continued to meet in World Cups, where they are routinely placed in the same group to keep TV happy

But they have continued to meet in World Cups, where they are routinely placed in the same group to keep TV happy

If the ICC really were the game’s governing body, and not simply a collection of members who dance to the tune of the most powerful, could they not arrange a Test series on neutral territory?

Netflix recently broadcast The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan. A nice idea, in theory.

6. What can be done about rogue leagues?

According to the WCA, 17 of the 53 men’s and women’s franchise leagues around the world failed either to pay players on time in 2024, or to pay them at all.

Their call for a ‘fit-for-purpose enforcement mechanism, such as a global arbitration body’ was a sobering reminder that such a thing does not exist. Astonishing, really.

7. Are there too many white-ball World Cups?

As things stand, each four-year cycle includes three World Cups: the 50-over edition, which is still the one to win, and two T20s, which tend to blur in the memory.

The fourth year is filled by the Champions Trophy, whose integrity this time round was damaged by the need to fly most teams in and out of the Gulf.

A cricketing solution would be to replace one of the T20 World Cups with an expanded World Test Championship, including semi-finals.

But that would mean less TV money, so we can probably forget it…

Are there too many World Cups in each four-year cycle?

Are there too many World Cups in each four-year cycle?

8. What to do about over rates?

They have never been slower, dropping steadily down the decades, from more than 20 an hour in the 1940s, nearly 18 in the 1960s, just over 14 in the 1980s, and now around 13.5.

The trend has been exacerbated by breaks for DRS and concussion checks, and is a problem for countries who bowl more seam than spin. When Ben Stokes made this valid point last year, he was widely mocked.

But the ICC make no allowances for the discrepancy. Worse, they apply draconian punishments: Australia missed out on a place in the first WTC final because of over-rates, while England lost any chance of qualification for this year’s final because of the general tardiness of the 2023 Ashes.

On top of that, innings lasting fewer than 80 overs don’t count, for reasons never adequately explained. Teams should speed up, certainly. But they shouldn’t be punished to within an inch of their lives.

Rankings prove Bazball’s reality 

The latest ICC rankings cover international cricket stretching back to May 2022, which is when Brendon McCullum joined forces with Ben Stokes.

Partly because it wipes out results from the previous 12 months, this is good news for England, who have jumped to second, with India – opponents this summer – slipping to fourth.

The newly updated Test rankings show just how effective Bazball has really been

The newly updated Test rankings show just how effective Bazball has really been

England have scored at 4.61 an over, which is more than a run an over quicker than the next-best (Australia, with 3.59)

England have scored at 4.61 an over, which is more than a run an over quicker than the next-best (Australia, with 3.59)

Now, these rankings are an inexact science, but they do belie the widespread wisdom that Bazball hasn’t worked. During the period covered by the new rankings, England have won 22 and lost 12, giving them a win-loss ratio (1.83) bettered only by Australia. 

And they have scored at 4.61 an over, which is more than a run an over quicker than the next-best (Australia, with 3.59).

The Bazballers have had some dark moments, not least in India in early 2024. But to depict it, as some have, as a failure, doesn’t tally with reality – or the ICC rankings.

A harsh lesson – at just 14 

Is any sport a more ruthless leveller than cricket?

Since apparently cracking the code by scoring a sensational 35-ball hundred at the age of 14 (or possibly 15), Vaibhav Suryavanshi has returned to earth with a bump for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

His next innings brought him a second-ball duck as the Royals plunged to a 100-run defeat by Mumbai Indians. And the one after that was another second-ball dismissal, for four, during a one-run loss to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Cancel the biopic and the Brylcreem deal: we can only apologise for getting carried away.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi has been brought back to earth with a crushing blow

Vaibhav Suryavanshi has been brought back to earth with a crushing blow

A wake-up call for Bailey 

It’s hard to think of a more zeitgeisty incident.

As Lancashire’s Tom Bailey turned for a second run during his side’s championship match against Gloucestershire at Old Trafford, a mobile phone fell from his pocket and landed a few feet from the crease.

A breach of the regulations? Probably not, it seemed, because he hadn’t been using it.

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