ICC considers repackaging Tests

Plans are afoot to make Test matches more attractive and ensure the Twenty20 format does not destroy the traditional five-day game, according to IS Bindra, who takes charge as the ICC's principal advisor next month.

Bindra said the sport's governing body was concerned at dwindling Test attendance. "We need to learn from our experiences and move forward," Bindra told the Week, an Indian magazine. "We in the ICC have had very serious discussions for the last six to eight months on how to repackage Test cricket, make it more exciting and introduce an element of competition.

"It does not mean tinkering with the form but we are looking to bringing in more audience in Test matches." Bindra, a former president of the BCCI, declined to reveal the measures being considered but said the "the ICC was looking at ways to increase scoring-rates [and] have a world championship of Test cricket."

These plans will be unveiled as early as next month when the ICC holds their annual meeting at its headquarters in Dubai. Bindra sidestepped suggestions that Twenty20 will spell more trouble for the 50-over format than Test cricket. "The future of 50-overs cricket is something that one has to look at in the long term.

"For now, the ICC has laid a stipulation that all Test nations must play a minimum of 30 one-day internationals and 12 Tests each year as part of the existing Future Tours Programme (FTP) that runs till 2012."