“Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are all miserable.”

– Voltaire, Candide

I must admit, I am something of an optimist when it comes to Test cricket.

For years, I have proposed ideas on this blog to improve the World Test championship points system and make Test cricket great again. But these were mostly minor adjustments to the status quo, suggestions for fixing the systems already in place.

But after looking at the empty stands in the Pakistan-West Indies Test series, reflecting upon the historic yet contextless India-England women’s Test at Lord’s, and analyzing who can even afford Test cricket in today’s age, my optimism has started to fade.

Perhaps minor adjustments are no longer enough. Perhaps we need to think outside the box.

Otherwise give me a solution to this ! How to solve this problem ? pic.twitter.com/w9ZJSM18lj

— The Falling Sweep (@thefallingsweep) July 29, 2026

Kevin Pietersen previously suggested domestic franchise red-ball cricket, but what if we took that idea one step further?

What if franchise Test cricket went global?

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Why This is Needed?

It is easiest to see the need for change from the women’s game.

Until 2004, there were semi-consistent women’s Test matches. After the International Women’s Cricket Council merged with the ICC in 2005, focus shifted to popularizing ODI and later, T20I cricket.

The consequence?

Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine retired from their legendary careers without playing a single Test. It would be a shame if Melie Kerr also suffered the same fate.

Recently, one-off Tests have picked up as part of the multi-format. However, most of these nations lack a proper domestic first-class system and there is usually not enough preparation before the Tests.

The Schedule is out of Control

For the mens’ game, the problem is different.

Franchise T20 leagues, domestic tournaments, World Cups every year, meaningless bilaterals, and Test series for the WTC.

There is no time to breathe for players.

We could abolish the Champions Trophy (or combine CT & ODI WC into a single 10-12 team competition), only have T20 World Cups every 4 years, install a more robust qualification system, and scrap all limited over bilaterals. But that is a discussion for a different today.

Today, let us focus on fixing Test cricket.

The Structure

Here is my proposal: an international franchise Test league.

First, let’s scrap the World Test Championship and most bilateral Test series. A small number of historic rivalries, such as the Ashes and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, could be protected separately.

The franchise league could begin with:

• Three women’s teams, six men’s teams
• Two dedicated Test windows each year: Once in the Northern Hemisphere (June-August) and once in the southern hemisphere (Nov-February). No other league, T20, or ODI cricket will take place during this time.
• The format will be 2 sets of round-robin, one in each window followed by a 3-match final for the top two teams in the league.
  • Each men’s team will play 10 matches (5 round-robin x 2 windows)
  • Each women’s team will play 4 matches (2 x 2)

There were 42 men’s Test matches in 2025. There will be 33 franchise matches, leaving space in the calendar for the friendly India-Australia-England tri-series (Ashes/BGT).

There was 1 women’s Test in 2025 and 3 in 2024. The franchise league would ensure 9 Tests a year and will will expand to 15 Tests when a 4th team is added in the future.

Three Women’s Team Franchise

For a tournament that would played in two different parts of the world over a long-period of time, teams will require depth.

• Each team will consist of 20-25 players.
• No more than 3 players from the same nation can feature in the XI and no more than 5 in the squad.

With only India-England-South Africa-Australia currently playing Tests, we can create about 3 solid teams. As players from more countries are introduced, the format can expand to four teams.

Team 1 (24)

• Australia: Phoebe Litchfield, Kim Garth, Tahlia McGrath, Jess Jonassen
• England: Maia Bouchier, Mady Villiers, Lauren Bell, Sophia Dunkley
• India: Yastika Bhatia (WK), Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh
• New Zealand: Rosemary Mair, Isabella Gaze (WK)
• Pakistan: Gull Feroza (WK)
• Sri Lanka: Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari
• South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (C), Nadine de Klerk, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloe Tryon
• West Indies: Hayley Matthews, Karishma Ramharack, Qiana Joseph

Possible XI: 1. Phoebe Litchfield, 2. Laura Wolvaardt (C), 3. Yastika Bhatia (WK), 4. Hayley Matthews, 5. Nadine de Klerk, 6. Tahlia McGrath, 7. Mady Villiers, 8. Sneh Rana, 9. Nonkululeko Mlaba, 10. Jess Jonassen, 11. Lauren Bell

Team 2 (25)

• Australia: Beth Mooney (WK), Ash Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Darcie Brown, Sophie Molineux
• England: Amy Jones (WK), Emma Lamb, Sophie Ecclestone, Danni Wyatt-Hodge
• India: Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh (WK), Harmanpreet Kaur, Sayali Satghare, Shree Charani
• New Zealand: Amelia Kerr, Maddy Green
• Pakistan: Sidra Amin, Nashra Sandhu
• Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu
• South Africa: Anneke Bosch, Annerie Dercksen, Masabata Klaas, Tumi Sekhukune
• West Indies: Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher

Possible XI: 1. Smriti Mandhana (C), 2. Amy Jones/Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3. Beth Mooney (WK), 4. Ellyse Perry, 5 Melie Kerr, 6. Anneke Bosch, 7. Ash Gardner/Deandra Dottin, 8. Sophie Molineux, 9. Shree Charani, 10. Sophie Ecclestone, 11. Masabata Klaas

Team 3 (25)

• Australia: Georgia Voll, Alana King, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
• England: Nat Sciver-Brunt (C), Alice Capsey, Lauren Filer, Issy Wong, Charlie Dean
• India: Jemimah Rodrigues, Pratika Rawal, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Kranti Gaud
• New Zealand: Jess Kerr, Brooke Halliday
• Pakistan: Muneeba Ali, Fatima Sana
• Sri Lanka: Harshitha Samarawickrama
• South Africa: Tazmin Brits, Sinalo Jafta (WK), Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus
• West Indies: Stefanie Taylor, Chinelle Henry

Possible XI: 1. Tazmin Brits, 2. Georgia Voll/Shafali Verma, 3. Jemimah Rodrigues, 4. Nat Sciver-Brunt (C), 5. Stefanie Taylor/Fatima Sana, 6. Annabel Sutherland/Marizanne Kapp, 7. Sinalo Jafta (WK), 8. Charlie Dean, 9. Lauren Filer, 10. Alana King, 11. Kranti Gaud

There are other players that could make the squads as well or can be considered as injury replacements.

Unsold: Kate Cross, Georgia Plimmer, Lara Goodall, Ayanda Hlubi, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Priya Punia, Nandani Sharma, Bess Heath (WK), Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Eliz-Mari Marx, Molly Penfold, Bree Illing, Nensi Patel, Sadaf Shamas, Imesha Dulani, Vishmi Gunaratne, Anushka Sanjeewani (WK), Nilakshika Silva

Note: Bangladesh, Scotland, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Netherlands women teams were not considered for this exercise but players from these countries should also be eligible to enter the auction.

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Six Men Teams Franchise

For the mean’s team, we can create at least six decent squads with plenty of players that were left out. As players continue to improve, this can expand from a six-team to an eight-team tournament.

Team 1 (20)

• Australia: Alex Carey (WK), Beau Webster, Pat Cummins
• Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi
• Bangladesh: Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain
• England: Jacob Bethell, Rehan Ahmed
• India: Rishabh Pant (WK), Sai Sudharsan
• Ireland: Harry Tector
• New Zealand: Henry Nicholls
• Pakistan: Babar Azam, Noman Ali
• Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (WK)
• South Africa: Temba Bavuma, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
• West Indies: Joshua Da Silva (WK)
• Zimbabwe: Ben Curran

Possible XI: 1. Ben Curran, 2. Jacob Bethell, 3. Henry Nicholls/Babar Azam, 4. Temba Bavuma (C), 5. Rishabh Pant, 6. Dinesh Chandimal/Beau Webster, 7. Alex Carey (WK), 8. Pat Cummins, 9. Keshav Maharaj, 10. Lungi Ngidi, 11. Ebadot Hossain

Team 2 (23)

• Australia: Travis Head, Scott Boland
• Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK)
• Bangladesh: Mominul Haque, Hasan Mahmud
• England: Jamie Smith (WK), Gus Atkinson
• India: Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep
• Ireland: Andy Balbirnie
• New Zealand: Will Young, Blair Tickner
• Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi
• Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis (WK), Kasun Rajitha
• South Africa: Dewald Brevis, Simon Harmer, Kagiso Rabada
• West Indies: Shai Hope (WK)
• Zimbabwe: Innocent Kaia

Possible XI: 1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2. Travis Head, 3. Will Young, 4. Shai Hope (C), 5. Kusal Mendis, 6. Jamie Smith (WK), 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Kagiso Rabada, 9. Gus Atkinson, 10. Hasan Mahmud/Simon Harmer, 11. Scott Boland

Team 3 (21)

• Australia: Josh Inglis (WK), Josh Hazlewood
• Afghanistan: Azmatullah Omarzai
• Bangladesh: Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed
• England: Joe Root, Ollie Robinson
• India: Dhruv Jurel (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar
• Ireland: Lorcan Tucker (WK)
• New Zealand: Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke
• Pakistan: Mohammd Rizwan (WK), Abrar Ahmed
• Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Kumara
• South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Wiaan Mulder, David Bedingham
• West Indies: Amir Jangoo
• Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett

Possible XI: 1. Tony de Zorzi/David Bedingham/Brian Bennett, 2. Pathum Nissanka, 3. Joe Root (C), 4. Daryl Mitchell, 5. Wiaan Mulder/Azmatullah Omarzai, 6. Washington Sundar, 7. Josh Inglis (WK), 8. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9. Josh Hazlewood, 10. Jasprit Bumrah, 11. Ollie Robinson

Team 4 (21)

• Australia: Mitchell Starc
• Afghanistan: Rahmat Shah
• Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim, Nahid Rana
• England: James Rew (WK), Shoaib Bashir
• India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Axar Patel
• Ireland: Mark Adair
• New Zealand: Tom Latham (WK), Glenn Phillips (WK), Kyle Jamieson
• Pakistan: Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel
• Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva, Prabath Jayasuriya
• South Africa: Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen
• West Indies: Brandon King, Jayden Seales
• Zimbabwe: Brad Evans

Possible XI: 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2. Aiden Markram, 3. Shan Masood/Rahmat Shah, 4. Glenn Phillips, 5. Tom Latham (WK), 6. Mushfiqur Rahim/James Rew, 7. Marco Jansen, 8. Axar Patel/Prabath Jayasuriya, 9. Kyle Jamieson, 10. Mitchell Starc, 11. Jayden Seales/Nahid Rana

Team 5 (23)

• Australia: Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon
• Afghanistan: Rashid Khan
• Bangladesh: Litton Das (WK), Mustafizur Rahman
• England: Ben Duckett (WK), Josh Tongue
• India: KL Rahul (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy
• Ireland: Mark Adair
• New Zealand: Tom Blundell (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Matt Henry
• Pakistan: Salman Agha, Abdullah Shafique
• Sri Lanka: Kamindu Mendis, Vishwa Fernando
• South Africa: Ryan Rickelton (WK), Corbin Bosch
• West Indies: Roston Chase, Kemar Roach
• Zimbabwe: Richard Ngarava

Possible XI: 1. KL Rahul (WK), 2. Ben Duckett, 3. Rachin Ravindra, 4. Marnus Labuschagne, 5. Kamindu Mendis, 6. Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7. Roston Chase/Corbin Bosch, 8. Kemar Roach/Josh Tongue, 9. Nathan Lyon/Rashid Khan, 10. Richard Ngarava/Mustafizur Rahman, 11. Matt Henry

Team 6 (22)

• Australia: Steve Smith, Cameron Green
• Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shoriful Islam
• England: Harry Brook, Jofra Archer
• India: Shubman Gill, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
• Ireland: Andy McBrine
• New Zealand: Devon Conway (WK), Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith
• Pakistan: Mohammad Abbas, Sajid Khan
• Sri Lanka: Asitha Fernando
• South Africa: Tristan Stubbs (WK), Kyle Verreynne (WK)
• West Indies: Justin Greaves, Shamar Joseph
• Zimbabwe: Blessing Muzarabani, Newman Nyamhuri

Possible XI: 1. Devon Conway, 2. Shubman Gill, 3. Najmul Hossain Shanton, 4. Steve Smith (C), 5. Harry Brook, 6. Cameron Green, 7. Kyle Verreynne (WK), 8. Mitchell Santner, 9. Mohammad Abbas, 10. Blessing Muzarabani, 11. Mohammad Siraj/Shamar Joseph/Newman Nyamhuri

Unsold: Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, Emilio Gay, Nangeyalia Kharote, Senuran Muthusamy, Jake Weatherald, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Qais Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, Saransh Jain, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Dane Peterson, Ben Sears, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kavin Hodge, Keemo Paul, Jomel Warrican, Azan Awais, Aamer Jamel, Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Lahiru Igalagamage, Craig Young, Wessley Madhevere, Wellington Masakadza

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How Will the Finances Look Like?

We estimated that it takes about $350,000-$1.4 million to host a Test match.

So, for these 42 franchise Test matches (33 men, 9 women), it would take anywhere from $14.7 million-$58.8 million.

That sound’s like a lot of money, but the ICC has been doing pretty well recently (thanks to the CT and the annual World Cups). Currently, the ICC has reserves of a whopping $704,624,000. Surely, they can shell out a few million on a Test league. If all fails, a small portion from the BGT/Ashes broadcasting revenues could be shared with the ICC.

And even though most host nations apart from India-England-Australia lose money, the ICC has made a profit from the WTC Finals.

The World Test Championship Final of 2025 earned the ICC $35,398,000 in revenue and cost them about $21,749,000.

WTC	Revenue	Expenses	Profit
2021	+$36,318,000	-$12,469,000	+$23,849,000
2023	+$39,773,000	-$11,994,000	+$27,779,000
2025	+$35,398,000	-$21,749,000.	+$13,649,000

Turns out, if you market the product enough, build some context, and there is a will, then there is definitely a way.

Final Thoughts

What about Test cricket makes it worth watching? Is it the battle between bat and ball? Ebbs and flows? Or do we value the larger context, the history of series like the Ashes, and the overall aura of Test cricket?

I have absolutely no doubt that Test cricket will continue to survive. After all, people have been questioning Test cricket’s survival since the 1900s, and it has done well.

But will it survive beyond the Big 3? I am not so sure.

Franchise Test cricket alongside the various franchise domestic T20 leagues will surely break the social fabric of international cricket, but it might be worth to at least experiment and try to give a new look to the format.

Other Pieces on WTC and Test Cricket Survival

• It Will Take Only $37 million to Solve the World Test Championship (WTC) Problem. Here’s How.
• Review of Test Cricket A History
• The Economics Behind Zimbabwe’s 2025 Test Cricket Revival: How a $19 Million Deficit Turned Into an 11-Test Comeback
• How Can the World Test Championship Improve?
• Make Test Cricket Great Again & Restore The Soul of this Wonderful Sport — Part I
• An Open Letter to the ICC: 14 Points & Cricket’s League of Nations Proposal for Survival of the Sport
• Make Test Cricket Great Again & Restore The Soul of this Wonderful Sport — Part II: The Problems With Test Cricket
• Relegation & Promotion Proposal in World Test Championship: Make Test Cricket Great Again Part III
• How to Fix Test Championship Points Table?
• World Test Championship Table: Surprising Changes
• How Would the World Test Championship Look Today (2024) if Away Wins Counted for More?
• From $21 Million Deficit to $46 Million Surplus: How West Indies Cricket Pulled Off an Economic Turnaround

#415 © Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, LLC 2023. Originally published on 08/02/2026. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).