Bradshaw: Test Venue Selection Is Wrong
Speaking exclusively to Sportindustry.biz, Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of the MCC, has revealed that he thinks the England and Wales Cricket Board’s current method of selecting Test grounds is fundamentally flawed.
In an interview filmed on Sport Industry TV, Bradshaw commented: ‘There has been artificial barriers placed in front of us that are not helping the game as a whole and we should be working together with other Test match grounds.’
‘Instead we find ourselves in a competitive situation where we bid against each other and in most situations the highest bid wins,’ he added.
Bradshaw admitted that he is seeking to restructure the current selection policy: ‘I happen to think that we have the model wrong and I’m working with some of the other Test match grounds to see if we can come up with a more collaborative approach and one that is good for the game.’
It is feared that Lord’s could lose one of its two Tests a year as, under the current system, it is not a guaranteed venue – in contrast to The Brit Insurance Oval which is assured a Test match every year.
Bradshaw has gone through various stages of rebranding Lord’s in recent years with more shorter versions of the game being played at the venue and including hosting the Rajasthan Royals in a bid to show the ‘home of cricket’ is ready to host an IPL tournament game.
Speaking of his bid to change perceptions of Lord’s whilst keeping its traditional values Bradshaw said: ‘It is a surprise to people – ten years ago they wouldn’t have thought that we would have cheerleaders here, they wouldn’t have thought of all that razzmatazz – but that is the way that the game is heading and I believe that you can encompass and keep the traditions whilst bringing in the modern methods as well.’
