Cricket: NZ told to put cricket world to rights

By Richard Boock

New Zealand Cricket hopes to have the blueprint for a World Test Championship ready to be implemented by the year 2001.

The International Cricket Council yesterday asked NZC officials Chris Doig and Sir John Anderson to find a more workable cycle for a regular test series rotation, upon which the WTC is expected to be based.

New Zealand had been exploring the idea of every ICC nation playing each other on a home and away basis every four or five years, but the concept has not yet attracted the support of the England and Australian cricket boards, who already have heavy commitments at home and abroad.

NZC chief executive Doig, speaking after yesterday's ICC press conference, said all member nation CEOs were keen to see a workable cycle, and that his board was hoping to see the concept introduced in the winter of 2001.

"It might be that we need to merge between the four and five-year rotation to help the bigger nations and we can probably do that," he said. "We could possibly work it out by having two cycles every ten years, and that's what we'll be discussing soon."

Doig said while the idea of the WTC was attractive, NZCs main thrust was to ensure a regular test rotation so that all member nations had equal opportunities to play each other.

"But once we have that rotation, it should not be too hard to apply some sort of points-rating system to establish a WTC."

Initially NZC had proposed a rotation system involving a minimum of three and a maximum of five tests between each country on a home and away basis, but he said that would now be reduced to a minimum of two, without any maximum.

ICC chief executive David Richards paid glowing tributes to Doig and Sir John at the end of yesterday's meeting, saying the solid progress evident "over here" was one of the reasons the ICC decided to hold the meeting in Christchurch.

"We came here partly because of the new process to move the ICC around the world," Richards said. "But also because of the important work that's being going on in New Zealand cricket in recent years.

"Sir John has made a significant contribution to the ICC - as Chris has to NZC - and I think it's fitting that we pay tribute to what's been happening in this part of the world."

Meanwhile Doig, in response to an ICC resolution to demand inquiries into perceived corruption - as well as requesting cricket boards to conduct their own investigations if necessary - said NZC would not be launching a probe.

"There's no need," he said. "There's not been a skerrick of evidence to suggest there's anything like that going on here, never even a suggestion or suspicion.

There's no need for an inquiry in New Zealand."