Marylebone Cricket Club looks to restructure bilateral income

The MCC also known as the Marylebone Cricket Club, has called for restructuring of the financial distribution system in bilateral cricket. The MCC’s World Cricket Committee (WCC) has talked of reconsidering the current model of touring, which distributes the income.

They opined that the economics of the game are very imbalanced with the context of the touring team, which has to travel a lot without adequate returns for it. Meeting up in Cape Town for their latest meeting, the WCC talked about how the same matter should be corrected as soon as possible.

“With evidence emerging of this now creating inequalities the committee calls for this model to be reconsidered, with analysis to be conducted on the impact of home bodies absorbing these touring team costs as a way of redistributing income and adding greater context to all future bilateral cricket. this should form part of a broader audit of the current costs of the international game called for following the previous WCC meeting in July 2023,” the WCC was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. 

Across the globe, it has been heavily discussed that the home boards should be sharing the revenue that is generated from bilateral series. The same was not a point of interest for the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) as the board already earns more than its competitors.

“The committee also feels the imbalance of the current FTP unfairly impacts some nations by restricting where valuable content can be played in calendar windows. From the commencement of the next cycle in 2028, it would be preferable for a more equitable split of matches to provide a more balanced opportunity for nations to access key dates and opposition,” the WCC added.

Furthermore, the head of the WCC, Kumar Sangakkara, had a lot to say about the matter as well. He opined that this is the time for better leadership in the matter and a united vision for the sport.

“It’s time for courageous leadership and a united vision for the global game. Whilst the opportunities for cricket are enormous, the challenges are equally great and there must be stronger sense of collegiality amongst full members and all stakeholders for cricket to thrive,” Sangakkara said.