ICC launches research project on burnout, surfeit of cricket

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

London, July 8 (UNI) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to launch a research project into players' workload and volume of cricket and defended its new Future Tours Programme (FTP) as ''fundamentally good for the game''.

ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed, speaking at the annual Business Forum at Lord's, said, ''Two words that concern some of our stakeholders are 'burnout' and 'saturation. They are highly emotive words (and) they are too often used in the absence of facts and evidence. Many of the game's top players are playing fewer cricket matches than their predecessors while international cricket is in greater public and commercial demand than ever.

''It is time some proper research is undertaken into these two often-raised but little-understood areas (and) I am pleased to say that this week our Members mandated ICC to begin a comprehensive research project in this area,'' he added.

The terms of reference and scope of the research project are yet to be determined but it is likely it will compare player workloads over eras, as well as assessing injury trends.

Mr Speed also responded to criticism of the recently-adopted six-year FTP and said, ''A lot has been written about this FTP, some of it critical (and) not all of it based on facts,'' he said.

''Let me say today that the FTP is fundamentally good for the game. Far from being concerned about the excessive volume of cricket being played by our Members, we believe many of them should be looking for opportunities to program more cricket,'' he explained.

''New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all have fewer than 55 Test matches scheduled over the next six years and South Africa and the West Indies? annual schedules of Test cricket only hit double figures three and four times respectively.

''When the schedules of our Members are looked at over the course of the forthcoming six years, only three teams ever come close to reaching the players' recommended upper limit (of 15 Tests and 30 ODIs in a 12-month period) -- Australia, England and India,'' he said.

He pointed out that the Australian team is now enjoying a five-month break, while the England and Wales Cricket Board has formal agreements with their player groups concerning the volume of cricket they play.

''And the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has more cricket scheduled than anyone else, has regularly assured us their schedule has the full support of their player group,'' he added.

Mr Speed also made it clear that the responsibility for managing player workloads lay in the hands of the ICC Member Boards.

''They need to balance the demands of player workload with public and commercial interest. The directive we have given to our Members is that in instances where they are considering adding to the current schedule, they should do so in consultation with their elite players,'' he added.

UNI XC AY VC1546

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