International Cricket - Setting Context To A Calendar Year of Matches

International Cricket has a year round calendar with different countries playing in different parts of the world at any given point. A country is either playing a Test Match, One-Day International (ODI) or Twenty20 (T20). These International Matches are mostly bilateral series between 2 countries and sometimes includes a Tri-Series - ODI or T20.

The problem with the current International Cricket Calendar and as International Cricket Council (ICC) calls it Future Tours Programme, there is No Context at the end of a full year of cricket matches. There are No Champions crowned at the end of each calendar year through a proper format of Points System or Win/Loss ratios.

*There is an ICC Champion Table for each format that is difficult to follow,  some points carry forward each year, & no one really cares about it in the current format. 

By creating a proper context & format and crowning a Champion at the end of each calendar year, will ensure the following -

1. All bilateral series & matches have a larger context other than just who wins that particular series
     - All these interim, stop gap series that India plays with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies will have more meaning or will not be scheduled at all 
2. Every Match counts in larger scheme of things as Points or W/L ratio will matter
3. Every Country will have interest in Other Countries matches & results
     -  Even Associate Member countries can be included in this format for ODIs & T20s
4. All Fans will have more stake & interest in other bilateral series being played
5. Race to Playoffs will emerge making it exciting & a Champion in each Calendar Year for each format will be crowned

An example of a New Structure & Format that will benefit Cricket -

1. Current Future Tours Programme finalized by the countries to play Tests, ODI, T20 can be continued or tweaked to bit to ensure that most teams play in the same ballpark of matches each year in each format
2. There is no need for each country to be playing every other country each year as long as the total number of matches played is in the ballpark
3. Win/Loss Ratio will determine the ranking of countries in each format OR teams winning maximum Bilateral Series can be used to rank teams too
4. On Dec 1st of each year, the top 4 teams based on Win/Loss Ratio in each format will qualify for a Playoff Format and a Champion in each format - Test, ODI & T20 will be crowned at the end of the year.

* There will be an impact especially for the Australian Summer (December) but some adjustments need to be made. 

Playoff Format - Continuing the thought process & compiling a Win/Loss table for the period Jan 1st, 2014 to Dec 31st, 2014 for each format, we see the following emerge -

Test Match Champion - Based on the below table - New Zealand, South Africa, Australia & Sri Lanka will qualify for Test Match Playoffs. In the Playoffs - NZ will play Sri Lanka and South Africa will play Australia. The Winners will then play in the Finals to crown the Champion.

* Obviously there is a strong possibility that we may not get a result in a Test Match, and to keep it simple for now the team getting the 1st Innings Lead will be declared winner. Other ways to determine a winner can also be explored.  

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	W/L
New Zealand	9	5	2	0	2	2.5
South Africa	8	4	2	0	2	2
Australia	9	5	3	0	1	1.666
Sri Lanka	11	5	3	0	3	1.666
Bangladesh	7	3	3	0	1	1
England	8	3	3	0	2	1
Pakistan	9	4	4	0	1	1
West Indies	7	3	3	0	1	1
India	10	1	6	0	3	0.166
Zimbabwe	4	0	4	0	0	0

ODI Champion - Based on the below table - Australia, South Africa, New Zealand& India will qualify for ODI Playoffs. In the Playoffs - Australia will play India and South Africa will play New Zealand. The Winners will play in the Finals to crown the champion.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	W/L
Australia	18	13	5	0	0	2.6
South Africa	19	12	6	0	1	2
New Zealand	16	9	5	1	1	1.8
India	24	14	8	1	1	1.75
Sri Lanka	32	20	12	0	0	1.666
Scotland	7	4	3	0	0	1.333
U.A.E.	7	4	3	0	0	1.333
West Indies	13	7	6	0	0	1.166
Kenya	2	1	1	0	0	1
Netherlands	2	1	1	0	0	1
Afghanistan	14	6	8	0	0	0.75
Ireland	5	2	3	0	0	0.666
Pakistan	16	6	10	0	0	0.6
England	25	9	16	0	0	0.562
Bangladesh	18	5	12	0	1	0.416
Zimbabwe	16	3	13	0	0	0.23
Canada	2	0	2	0	0	0
Hong Kong	4	0	4	0	0	0

T20 Champion - Based on the below table - Sri Lanka, India, Australia & New Zealand will qualify for a T20 Playoffs. In the Playoffs - NZ will play Sri Lanka and India will play Australia, The Winners will then play in the Finals to crown a Champion.

* Zimbabwe& Ireland don't qualify for playoffs as they have played too few matches and it will be upto ICC to ensure that they play more matches. Same applies to other Associate countries. 

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	W/L
Sri Lanka	9	8	1	0	0	8
India	7	5	2	0	0	2.5
Australia	13	9	4	0	0	2.25
Zimbabwe	3	2	1	0	0	2
Ireland	5	3	2	0	0	1.5
New Zealand	10	6	4	0	0	1.5
Hong Kong	4	2	2	0	0	1
Nepal	4	2	2	0	0	1
West Indies	15	7	7	0	1	1
Netherlands	7	3	4	0	0	0.75
Pakistan	7	3	4	0	0	0.75
South Africa	10	4	6	0	0	0.666
Afghanistan	3	1	2	0	0	0.5
England	12	3	9	0	0	0.333
Bangladesh	10	2	7	0	1	0.285
U.A.E.	3	0	3	0	0	0

*Data source from ESPNCricinfo 

ICC can eliminate the ODI Champions Trophy if this format is implemented & only 2 World Cups will remain - ODI & T20.

Does this seem like a reasonable structure & context setting for ICC to implement for International Cricket? Will this increase viewership in stadiums & on TVs/Online? Will it create more fan excitement?

I am all in for this structure!