Radical plan may result in two England-Australia Ashes series every three years
Radical plan may result in two England-Australia Ashes series every three years
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England and Australia could play two Ashes series every three years from 2027 onwards under a radical two division plan being considered for Test cricket. According to a report in the Melbourne Age, Australia, England and India, plus Jay Shah, the new chair of the International Cricket Council, are due to meet later this month to discuss splitting the 12 Test nations into two tiers. It would also allow the so-called “Big Three” countries to play their hugely lucrative series more often.
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The news follows a bumper Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India that saw the hosts prevail 3-1 amid huge crowds. It was Australia’s fourth-best attended series – the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne drew a record 373,691 spectators over its five days – and was reportedly the most-watched Test series ever played in the country. The arrival of England’s Bazballer’s for the Ashes next winter could well challenge these numbers.
As it stands, the nine-team, two-year World Test Championship is baked into the schedule until mid-2027, with the future tours programme for the period that follows still to be drawn up by the ICC and its full member boards. Were the number of teams in the top flight to be cut to seven from 2027 onwards – as per a previous proposal in 2016 – it could see the Ashes and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy played every 18 months.
How the split would be achieved is yet to be established. If seven is the desired number for the top division and the current Test rankings were used, it would feature Australia, South Africa, India, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The current World Test Championship ladder sees Bangladesh in seventh place ahead of Pakistan, however, a discrepancy that could arise again were the 2025-27 WTC table to be used.
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