New Cricket Australia CEO, Todd Greenberg, has urged leaders in the sport to be "brave" about the future of Test cricket, and consider whether the number of nations playing the format should be reduced.
Speaking after the ICC meeting in Harare this week, Greenberg discussed with the media a wide range of issues in his inbox to address during his tenure. The former National Rugby League chief took over from Nick Hockley as CA boss last month. On his agenda was the future of Test cricket, and whether fewer Test playing nations and a reduction in the number of Test played could benefit the game.
“It’s really important that Test cricket continue to have more than just Australia, England and India, and that’s incumbent on us,” said Greenberg.“We want to continue playing New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, Pakistan.
“But we do have to be brave enough to consider whether scarcity will provide better results for Test cricket. Maybe not everyone in global cricket needs to set themselves up to play Tests. There might be fewer countries playing, rather than all of them. That’s a mature, adult conversation about the evolution of the sport.”
Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg wonders whether "scarcity will provide better results" for Test cricket. pic.twitter.com/YFVBLfOgzk
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 18, 2025
Cricket's administrators have long had the future of the longest format on their agendas. Earlier this year, outgoing ICC chair Greg Barclay warned national boards against prioritising Test cricket over the growth of the T20 game, and questioned whether West Indies could afford to keep playing Test cricket, as well as said that “some countries are trying to play Test cricket that maybe shouldn’t,” referencing Ireland and Zimbabwe.
SA20 chief Graeme Smith also told the Wisden Cricket Patreon channel earlier this year that Test cricket would never be more than “a six or seven nation format”.
In advocating for a reduction in Test playing nations, Greenberg cited the different financial situations of national boards compared to CA, the BCCI and the ECB.
“What was clear sitting at the ICC table, and I said this in the meeting, is the complexity is that everyone’s business models are so different," said Greenberg.“In South Africa as an example, Test cricket doesn’t make up the primary source of revenue, but in Australia and England red-ball cricket holds primacy as the best revenue generator.”
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