ICC to investigate player burnout fears

The ICC is to launch a comprehensive research project into the contentious issue of player burnout, according to their chief executive, Malcolm Speed.

Speaking at the ICC's annual Business Forum at Lord's on Friday, Speed said: "Two words that concern some of our stakeholders are `burnout' and `saturation'. They are highly emotive words [and] they are too often used in the absence of facts and evidence."

Though the details of the research have yet to be determined, it is expected to compare player workloads across different eras, as well as assessing injury trends. "It is time some proper research is undertaken into these two often-raised but little-understood areas," Speed added.

"Many of the game's top players are playing fewer cricket matches than their predecessors while international cricket is in greater public and commercial demand than ever."

During the course of his speech, Speed also responded to criticism of the recently-adopted six-year Future Tours Program (FTP). "A lot has been written about this FTP, some of it critical [and] not all of it based on facts," he said. "Let me say today that the FTP is fundamentally good for the game.

"Far from being concerned about the excessive volume of cricket being played by our members, we believe many of them should be looking for opportunities to program more cricket.

Speed pointed out that New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all have fewer than 55 Test matches scheduled over the next six years, while South Africa and West Indies' annual schedules of Test cricket only hit double figures three and four times respectively.

"When the schedules of our members are looked at over the course of the forthcoming six years," Speed added, "only three teams ever come close to reaching the players' recommended upper limit [of 15 Tests and 30 ODIs in a 12-month period] - Australia, England and India.

"Of those three, Cricket Australia, whose players are currently on a five-month break, and the England & Wales Cricket Board both have formal agreements with their player groups concerning the volume of cricket they play and both have consistently honoured those agreements.

"And the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has more cricket scheduled than anyone else, has regularly assured us their schedule has the full support of their player group."

Speed added the responsibility for managing player workloads lay in the hands of the ICC's Member Boards. "They need to balance the demands of player workload with public and commercial interest," he said. "The directive we have given to our members is that in instances where they are considering adding to the current schedule, they should do so in consultation with their elite players."