"On Par With Ashes": ECB Chief Richard Gould On Test Series Between India And England
The upcoming five-match Test rubber between India and England is commercially as important as the Ashes, feels the ECB's chief executive Richard Gould, who is banking on the series to recapture the imagination of English fans after an underwhelming international summer in 2024. Last year, the country's sports fans were hooked on to the Paris Olympics and the Euro, Europe's biggest international football tournament. Empty seats at Lord's, after England's series win over Sri Lanka, did not paint a pretty picture as far as cricket was considered.
This time however, Gould is optimistic of a bumper summer thanks to the widely-followed Indian team.
"We know how big it is. It is a huge summer," Gould was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"Last summer, there were all sorts of things happening all over the place, weren't there? "I think that is one of the great things about a five-Test series: it is a proper long-read; it's something that people can get really into. There will be subplots, and sub-subplots. There will be all sorts of issues over that six-week period," Gould added.
Big names such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin may have retired from Test cricket in the last six months but India's off-field dominance of the game makes any series against them comparable to the Ashes.
"Certainly, in terms of commercial importance," Gould said.
The series marks the beginning of a new cycle for both India and England in the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC).
India have not won a Test series in England since 2007, and the last time they toured in 2021-22, they drew 2-2.
The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) top executive is also buoyed by the resurgence of five-match Test series in recent times.
"There's been lots of discussion about short formats, but Test cricket is doing quite a resurgence in its own way," he said.
"Particularly with the five-Test series: we're seeing more of those than we have done for a long time." As far as hosting future finals of the WTC is concerned, Gould said England holds an advantage over other strong contenders like India as it can fill venues even for title clashes involving neutral teams.
"The WTC, for us, is not the be-all and end-all. Because we also enjoy the Ashes and we will enjoy the India series," Gould said, speaking before last week's final before Australia and South Africa at Lord's.
Last week's WTC final was the third in a row staged in England, and later this summer the ICC is likely to confirm that England will retain hosting rights despite interest from India.
"We don't think that we've got any absolute right to be the continual host of the WTC (final), but there are advantages to having it here. Irrespective of who gets into the final, we will sell it out... We're probably the only member nation within the ICC that could deliver that.
"We recognise that perhaps others would like to take it around the world at some point... But the worry is if you move it, end up with two neutral teams, and don't get a crowd, the whole thing could devalue and deflate pretty quickly."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Why was NFL star Tyreek Hill's race with Noah Lyles cancelled? Olympic champion reveals
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill will not be racing with Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles, at least for now. Both athletes had planned a big event at New York City's Times Square for the weekend, but it has now been called off. The fans were eagerly awaiting the race between one of the fastest players in the NFL and the Olympic champion in the 100-meter track event, and they would be disappointed. But why was the planned race between Tyreek Hill and Noah Lyles called off? Noah Lyles provided an explanation about his planned race with NFL wideout Tyreek Hill getting cancelled, citing 'personal reasons'. 'We were very deep into creating the event. In fact, it was supposed to happen this weekend. Unfortunately, there were some things, complications, personal reasons that it just didn't come to pass, but we were full on. We were gonna have a big event, we were going to shut down New York Times Square and everything, we were gonna have all the billboards for the event, it was going to be a lot of fun,' the New York Post quoted Lyles as saying. Hill was in full preparation mode for the event, even entering a track meet on Friday. He won the 100-meter dash with an impressive time of 10.15 seconds. While it is indeed impressive for someone who hasn't run competitively for over a decade, it doesn't come near the time Noah Lyles posted for his gold medal in the Paris Olympics last year, 9.79 seconds. According to NBC Sports, there might not be time to reschedule the event as preparations for the 2025 NFL season have begun. Fans might have to wait until at least next year in case Tyreek Hill and Noah Lyles decide to do it again.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Noah Lyles pulls out of race with Tyreek Hill days before Miami event shocking fans across sports
Noah Lyles pulls out of race with Tyreek Hill days before Miami event shocking fans across sports (Image via Getty) Sports fans were excited for a big sprint showdown. Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles was all set to race against NFL speedster Tyreek Hill. It was going to be one of the most talked-about face-offs between track and football. But just before the race could happen, news broke that one of them is stepping away. Now, everyone wants to know—what happened, and why did the big match get canceled? Noah Lyles withdraws from race against Tyreek Hill before the big day — orlandosentinel (@orlandosentinel) Noah Lyles, who won the gold medal at the Olympics for the 100m dash, pulled out of the much awaited race against Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill which was set to take place June 16th, 2025. He released a statement that said Noah Lyles is not running for "personal reasons." No other explanation was given. The race was scheduled for later this week in Miami, Florida. The race had gotten a lot of online and social media attention. It was called a fun but serious contest to see who was the fastest man between track and football. Fans from both sports were ready to watch the two stars compete. Tyreek Hill responds after Noah Lyles drops out of sprint battle Tyreek Hill, the fastest player in the NFL, had a fast response. 'I was ready. I'm still ready. Let me know if we are back in business,' Hill posted to his X (formerly Twitter) account on the evening of Monday, June 16, 2025. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025: Canadians Over 30 Could Qualify for Up to $25,000 – Check Eligibility Today! Canada Daily Undo Tyreek Hill seemed to be excited for the challenge. Sources close to the event, including ESPN and Bleacher Report, confirmed that Noah Lyles pulled out just days before the event. One of the organizers told Bleacher Report: 'We were all excited, and we still respect Noah's decision. These things happen.' So far, there's no update if the race will be rescheduled. Noah Lyles hasn't given any more comments. Fans now wait to see if the two fastest athletes might face off at another time. Until then, the big race stays on hold. Also Read: Tyreek Hill Calls Out IShowSpeed For A Head-To-Head Sprint, Sparking Varied Reactions From Fans
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Make the World Test Championship more inclusive in two groups
In the next 15 months, South Africa, World Test champions, play no series at home. This says something important about their win in the final at Lord's where they beat Australia convincingly in what their low-key leader, Tenda Bavuma, the first Black man to captain the country called, 'a win for the 'small' teams. These currently being nine of 12 Test nations outside the so-called Big Three of India, England, Australia who have greater resources, larger talent pools and more victories in ICC tournaments. In England — where the final was played — fans of English cricket (and some players) thought South Africa didn't deserve to be in the final; their cricket board focused on two-Test series like someone forced to meet a requirement while the real thing was being played elsewhere. They had sent a 'B' team to New Zealand and unsurprisingly lost the series while the main players remained at home to play T20 franchise cricket. While other cricket boards at least made a show of encouraging Test cricket, South Africa's gave up all pretense and simply gave in to the current money machine. They played neither Australia nor England in the third cycle of the World Test Championship which now has three different winners, after New Zealand, another small team, won the inaugural final and Australia the next. Twists and turns The final was everything Test cricket is about. Unpredictable, for one, with as many twists and turns as a road to a hilltop. Emotionally draining for supporters, with every possibility alive almost till the end. One moment Australia looked like a team that could not lose, next, like one that could not win. After the first day, Mitch Starc the batter turned out to be more effective than Mitch Starc the bowler. Commentators told us the pitch was slow, it was fast, the ball was coming on, it wasn't coming on, Australia were too far ahead for it to be competitive, perhaps merely giving breath to their biases. Aidan Markham played the innings of his life; so did Bavuma, who went from being a symbol (he was called a 'quota captain' when he took over) to an individual with a big heart and a calculating head. He has won nine of his first ten Tests, leading South Africa to eight wins in a row at the end of it. Does this mean Test cricket will get a boost in South Africa or that the country's reputation of being chokers will no longer apply? The former depends on their administrators and the latter on the players. But what of the WTC itself? Is it time to have at least a three-Test final because a series win is the essence of the format? Importantly, is it time to look at some other changes? We must begin with an understanding — that we cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Looking for the perfect system is fine, but waiting till we have one before starting the World Test Championship cycles would have worked against it. That only nine of the 12 countries playing Test cricket are involved in the WTC cycle means that 'lesser' teams ( one step below Bavuma's 'small' teams) will continue to struggle. Most experts are against the notion of splitting the teams into two groups, fearing that this will lead to endless matches among India, England, Australia with the others getting further marginalised. New structure But if the two groups are divided so that every alternate team is in one group – thus, teams ranked in the odd number, one, three five in one and two, four, six in the other, it would mean all twelve get to be involved. Going by the current rankings, therefore, Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan would be in one group while South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe would be in the other. No promotion or relegation, no greater and lesser group. It will also help with the scheduling too. The cycle could be of three years rather than the current two. And the points system simplified. England skipper Ben Stokes has called the competition 'utterly confusing'. The aim should be to make it less confusing and more inclusive, as any World championship ought to be.
