Tournaments go as cricket battles logjam

Australian cricket's powerbrokers say they are intent on shaving matches off an horrifically cramped international schedule, but deny the enormous volume of fixtures against India needs to be reduced.

Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Jack Clarke, who has been on the Indian subcontinent to watch part of the seven-match series that has seen five touring players sent home due to injury, said the International Cricket Council (ICC) was attempting to reduce the amount of cricket played.

That included reshuffling the World Cup, Champions Trophy (CT) and World Twenty20 tournaments they are contractually bound to until 2015.

Under the ICC's deal with rights-holder ESPN, there will be an ICC event every year until then.

It was a situation created by the invention of the World T20 midway through the existing deal that called for a World Cup or CT every second year, but Clarke said he would be "surprised" if that continued.

The ICC is presently drafting its Future Tours Program (FTP) for 2013-2020, but players' unions have expressed concern that the schedule does not appear likely to get any less cramped, judging by the early drafts.

"It is not fixed yet as to what's going to happen, that's been one of the hold-ups in releasing the FTP, the ICC events," Clarke told AAP.

"The type of events and the regularity is one of the things.

"I suspect the game can't support an ICC tournament every year, but the ICC's also got to get money to get countries dividends, and not just the Test-playing countries but the associates and affiliates.

"So hopefully less will be more, and I'd be surprised if there's an ICC event every year, going forward in 2013-2020." It is well known that Australia must maintain strong relations with the all-powerful Indian Board (BCCI), due to the close link between CA's financial fortunes and those of India.

Since the remarkable 2001 and 2003-04 Test series, the two boards have locked into agreements to drastically increase the number of matches between the countries, with Australia squeezing limited overs tours to India or a neutral venue in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009 and again next year, in addition to four-Test series in 2004 (India), 2007-08 (Australia) and late 2008 (India).

In total, India and Australia have played each other in Tests or one day matches, home or away, in seven of the past nine years, but Clarke denied this was an overload.

"I don't think so (it's too often), it's the quality of cricket and they're different styles of cricket," he said.

"I think if you're trying to play Test or one day or T20 cricket every year, that would be an overload, but going forward it won't be every year.

"We didn't play India nearly enough going back a few years, but it's a great rivalry now." The Indians are next due to tour Australia in 2011-12.