Australia want to play South Africa in five-Test series, Todd Greenberg said•NurPhoto via Getty Images
A 12-team World Test Championship could be introduced for the 2029-31 cycle, with Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg suggesting that the expanded competition is now close to becoming reality.
The proposal would give all 12 Test-playing nations a pathway into the World Test Championship, potentially bringing Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan into the competition. A decision is expected at the International Cricket Council meetings in Bali next month.
The current WTC format, introduced in 2019, features nine teams competing over a two-year cycle, with each side playing six Test series, three at home and three away. The proposed new model could also allow one-off Tests to count towards the championship, making it easier to accommodate the additional nations.
Speaking ahead of Australia’s Test series against South Africa, Greenberg said he expected the 12-team model to be adopted for the next WTC cycle.
“I think for the next iteration of the WTC, I can understand why it is that number because they want to give every Test nation the opportunity,” Greenberg said.
However, his comments also highlighted the growing financial pressure facing Test cricket, particularly among countries outside the game’s biggest commercial markets.
Greenberg warned that the traditional model of reciprocal bilateral cricket, where teams regularly tour each other for home and away series, could become increasingly difficult for some nations to sustain.
“This whole reciprocal nature is potentially sending some countries broke,” he said.
The Cricket Australia chief executive argued that playing Test cricket was not simply about staging matches. Boards also have to invest heavily in developing players and maintaining domestic structures capable of producing Test cricketers.
He suggested that some countries could eventually be forced to play more Test cricket overseas than at home in order to keep their red-ball programmes alive.
The issue has particular relevance to Sri Lanka, which remains one of the established Test nations but operates in a significantly smaller commercial market than Australia, India and England.
Sri Lanka’s recent Test tours, including visits to countries such as the West Indies, have highlighted the financial challenges facing boards outside cricket’s biggest markets. The sustainability of bilateral Test cricket could therefore become an increasingly important issue for Sri Lanka when future programmes are negotiated.
Greenberg also revealed that Australia would like to play South Africa in five-Test series, although scheduling and commercial considerations remain obstacles.
Pakistan is another country Australia sees as having the potential to attract strong commercial interest, partly because of the large Pakistani expatriate community in Australia. Pakistan are scheduled to tour Australia for three Tests in December 2027, followed by Sri Lanka in February 2028.
The future of ODI cricket is also under discussion. Greenberg said there could be periods in the four-year cycle when fewer ODIs are played, followed by an increase in matches as teams approach a World Cup.
He stressed that ODI cricket remains important for player development and for the commercial value of the World Cup.
The proposed 12-team WTC could therefore represent an important attempt to protect Test cricket’s global reach. But expanding the competition alone may not solve the financial problems facing several Test nations.
For Sri Lanka and other smaller cricket boards, the bigger question will be whether the future international calendar can provide enough meaningful cricket and revenue to maintain a sustainable Test system.
The debate over the future of Test cricket is no longer simply about how many teams should play. It is increasingly about whether every Test nation can afford to keep playing it.
