July 06, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 2, 1429

DUBAI, July 5: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday said it was overwhelmed by the response from member countries to preserve the sanctity of Test cricket and holding a Test championship could be a way to that.

Haroon Lorgat, new chief executive of the ICC, said there has to be a balance between three formats of the game – Tests, One-day Internationals and Twenty20.

“It is at top of the mind of all our administrators not just at the ICC level, but also at the members’ level,” Lorgat stated.

“It is very interesting to look at various surveys that come through, including Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA), which have a very clear message from the players that you need to keep Test cricket at the top and endorse in that fashion. It is for us to keep it attractive enough.”

He further said that proposal of a Test championship culminating in a Test final has been put on the table.

“But it is very early days. In course of next few months a fair amount of work will be done about it, which includes obtaining what other available options are.”

He added there were many interesting ideas in various proposals that the ICC has received for promoting Test cricket.

“As for balancing three formats, I am personally very excited about keeping the game attractive to spectators.”

About the security situation in Pakistan where the Champions Trophy is scheduled in September this year, Lorgat said: “It is at top of our priorities to ensure safety and security of our players, administrators and media as well. From our perspective, everybody’s safety and security is of equal relevance.”

On what changes could be expected now that Clive Lloyd has taken over as ICC Cricket Committee’s chairman, he said: “Changes are never a bad thing. Lloyd is a great former international player. He has a long association with cricket as a match referee and I am sure he will bring equal stature to the committee.”

As for accommodating tournaments like cash-rich Indian Premier League IPL in the Future Tours Programme (FTP), Lorgat said it was open to debate.

“We need to be cognisant to the fact that the IPL exists and bring it back to the executive board level to understand what that means to both international cricket and domestic cricket.

“If we can find solutions to these, then there is no reason why we should not have a window for the IPL. But it has to be debated and you have to find the right answer,” Lorgat explained.—Agencies