MCC suggests to make T20 cricket an Olympic Sport

T20 cricket to be made an Olympic event, suggests MCC

The MCC World Cricket Committee have described that declaring the World Cup a 10-team event is a step backwards and have also suggested that T20 cricket should become an Olympic sport, reports ESPNcricinfo.

The committee has criticised ICC’s decision to limit the number of teams participating in future World Cups from 14 to 10 and asked them to reconsider their decision. They stated this move as "a handbrake for the development of the sport."

The committee has instead recommended a 12-team tournament which should be preceded by a preliminary round of qualification for the "lower ranked Full Member teams and the top Associate Nations."

T20 Cricket as an Olympic Sport

With the fear of the sport shrinking universally, the WCM urged "all governing bodies around the world to get behind a bid" to strive to make cricket an Olympic sport. The committee is of the view that this move will "expose the game positively to new markets" which would in turn prove beneficial for the developing cricketing nations in terms of government fundings which are associated with the Olympic involvement.

Former England captain Mike Brearley is the chairman of this committee which includes other noteworthy figures such as Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Shaun Pollock and Sourav Ganguly along with present ICC CEO Dave Richardson. The committee also considered the view of various administrators including ICC Chairman N Srinivasan and the ECB's chairman and CEO, Colin Graves and Tom Harrison.

The committee also stated that the ECB had been resistant to the idea of including cricket in the Olympics previously, but are now open to this proposal. The committe also declared that the decision was "unanimous”.

Mike Brearley stated that ECB President, Giles Clarke, who was against the idea of making cricket an Olympic sport would have to do what he is told.

"Colin and Tom acknowledged that the view of the ECB has been strongly anti it, but they say they are open to rethinking," Brearley said. "The president of the ECB is an employee of the board and has to report to the board. He has to do what he's told”, he said.

The ICC, however, are not liable to act upon the suggestions and recommendations of the MCC World Cricket Committee. Brearley too said that "We are merely a think-tank". Shaun Pollock also stated that the ICC had earlier hinted towards reviewing their decision of making the next World Cup a 10-team event.

"I think there's going to be a reassessment at their next meeting," Pollock said. "I know they have made a decision but they will discuss it again and if they turn around on what they feel, they might make a change. It's a real incentive for the Associates to get involved and play in the World Cup. We just want to be able to dangle the carrot and we think it might be a little frustrating for those teams if they put a lot of money, a lot of time, a lot of effort into trying to qualify and then there's a shorter amount of teams it doesn't become a reality for them. That would be pretty disappointing”.

"Whether there's a pre-qualifying tournament that happens a couple of weeks before and maybe in places like Ireland and Scotland which would mean that they would be part of it and they'd get their government funding and try and compete: that would be all good and well’, he added.

Use of DRS and Four-Day Tests

The committee also discussed the use of Decision Review System (DRS) and the possibility of reducing Test cricket to a four-day event.

The committee, which supported the DRS right from the start accepted that Srinivasan "still has reservations as to its use in the game”. At the same time they also insisted that "it is more accurate than the umpire's decision alone" and that "the spirit of the game is favourably affected by its implementation”.

They also urged Srinivasan "to implement DRS at all times should the research currently being conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology prove the scientific argument beyond a reasonable doubt”.

The Four-day Tests suggestion, however, did not find much favour. Although, the committee was concerned about the existence of the format in the long run – "the committee fears that, left as it is, the longest form of the game will not survive”. They also stated that the four-day format would put "extra strain on players' bodies" and there would be an increase in the number of drawn Tests in nations which have dynamic climate.

Change in Laws of Cricket

The committee also announced that there will be a change in two laws of the game which will come into play as of September 1, 2015.

The first (Law 41.7), will permit the fielders to move in anticipation of the shot the batsman is about to play; the second (Law 40.4), will permit the wicket-keeper to move in similar anticipation provided that he remains behind the stumps at all times. However, they will no longer be permitted to move laterally before the ball is delivered or move forward in anticipation of a slower delivery from the bowler.