SYDNEY, Feb 25: The glut of one-day cricket matches between Australia and India scheduled for later this year is devaluing cricket, international players' union boss Tim May said Sunday.

Australia and India have programmed 21 Test and one-day matches against each other in eight months from June this year and May says it is getting out of control.

May said the surfeit of Australia-India games showed the money-grabbing motives behind the ever-growing number of limited-overs matches were devaluing the contests for players and spectators.

“It's getting completely out of control,” May told The Sun-Herald newspaper.

“We're very seriously worried that a few countries are playing too much cricket.

“It's our ongoing battle with the International Cricket Council (the game's governing body). Australia will play India 21 times in the eight months from June this year.

“From the perspective of players and spectators, it's going to dampen your interest.

“And it detracts from the commercial value of the product. Vision has been lost about what's important and what is not.”Australia and India will play three one-dayers in Ireland in June on top of seven one-dayers in India in October, four Tests in Australia next summer and another seven one-dayers in the tri-series.

“They were already playing each other 18 times and now they've thrown in another three (in Ireland),” May said.

“We're concerned about that. Players have a passion for the game and want to maintain that passion every time they play. But it's becoming harder to play every game as though it's their last.

“No-one wants a two-bit product where blokes are only giving 75 percent because that's all they've got left. Or because they need to pace themselves for more games coming up.”Since September, Australia have played in a Malaysian one-day series with India and the West Indies, the Champions Trophy in India, the five-Test Ashes series against England, the tri-nations series against England and New Zealand in Australia and the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series in New Zealand.

May said next month's two-month World Cup was too long and could be halved if it were not for TV broadcasters wanting to drag it out as long as possible.

Australia arrive in the Caribbean for the World Cup on Wednesday. After two warm-up matches, their first Cup match is against Scotland on March 14.

“Our World Cup is too long,” May said. “Everybody bar the people who sell the TV rights believe we could compress it.

“The ICC sells the rights for significant amounts of money and obviously the broadcasters want to get their money's worth.

“We have to develop the game in some countries but there are arguments about whether the World Cup is the place for them.”—AFP