Courtesy: X
In a big development from the world of cricket, ICC could introduce a dedicated fund of $15 million from 2025 onwards , to strengthen Test cricket worldwide. It has been reported that the ICC wants to allow cricket boards outside of the Big Three, i.e., India, Australia, and England, to compete with high-spending franchise leagues for their players.
As per the report from ESPNcricinfo, the initiative, which is worked upon to keep Test cricket thriving in the future, came from Mark Baird, the Cricket Australia chair, with support from BCCI secretary Jay Shah and ECB chair Richard Thompson. The fund will be used to provide a minimum standard match fee to the players in the range US $10,000 (approx £7,600), while it could get a green light before Christmas this year, to become fully operational in 2025.
The dedicated fund of $15 million has not been discussed formally at the board or executive by the ICC.
Moreover, while speaking with the Sydney Morning Herald, Mark Baird said, “It's fantastic to see some momentum behind the Test-match fund,” before adding, “We need to take away the barriers and encourage Test cricket to be the best of the best. To retain that history and that legacy, which goes alongside the newer forms of white-ball cricket.”
The dedicated fund is a need of hour due to a lot of Test playing nations except the Big Three, who are facing losses while hosting the long format matches. Also, Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive
