A special fund for Test cricket worth at least USD 15 million is being considered by the International Cricket Council (ICC). This would support player match fees and prevent the exodus of talented players to richer T20 franchise leagues.
According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, it was Cricket Australia (CA) who presented the plan with endorsement from Jay Shah, BCCI Secretary as well as backing from England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Sending teams on overseas tours would be paid for by this fund while the minimum Test match salary for test cricketers would also be increased. It will help national sides like West Indies that are currently struggling to compete with international T20 offers, according to PTI.
This will ensure that all players receive a minimum payment per test which is thought to be about $10,000 and their expenses such as travel costs are covered during overseas trips around impoverished countries argued a report.
“I think it’s fantastic to see some momentum behind the test match fund,” said CA chairman Mike Baird who first outlined the idea in January.
“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,” added Baird.
The three richest cricketing nations – India, Australia and England – will probably not stand much chance of benefiting from this initiative since their pay packages are already attractive enough.
Moreover, there may not be full funding provided for Test cricket by ICC because of a dispute with Star broadcaster mentioned in The Report.
Star network wants to renegotiate its agreement regarding broadcasting rights with ICC aimed at decreasing its value based on more than USD three billion initially spent on it by half.
At some point earlier in this year, Board for Control of Cricket in India announced an incentive program that was aimed at encouraging male Indian Test cricketers’ focus on longest format of game along with compensating their consistent perseverance.
A player who plays in a minimum of 75% of India’s tests during that period which runs from October to September (yearly cycle of team) will earn an astounding Rs 45 lakh as match fees for all those matches, apart from the test match fee that is Rs 15 lakh, under this new initiative.
On the other hand, if a player features in between 50 and 75 percent of matches, then he will get a bonus amounting to 30 lakh Indian rupees every time. Similarly, for non-playing members they would be given half of the share distributed among players when selected in squad.
