There isn't "one answer" to cricket's scheduling problem, says Eoin Morgan

HUW TURBERVILL: The Cricketer asked Eoin Morgan what he would do about it as 'world controller of cricket' – a title that amused him

England's latest pointless extra ODI series against Australia is unfolding down under. It started a little over three days after Jos Buttler's men won the T20 World Cup. Moeen Ali branded the scheduling "horrible".

The management are sweating on whether Ben Stokes will revoke his decision to quit the 50-over game and play in the defence of next year's World Cup in India. It's a sad, sad situation, as Elton John would say.

The Cricketer asked Eoin Morgan what he would do about it as 'world controller of cricket' – a title that amused him.

"I don't think that there is just one answer," he said. "If you compromise one country's fixtures it opens opportunities for someone else to fill it with more.

"We played some warm-up games in India a few years ago, and some of their senior players were appearing. Their skipper said that they wanted to play 16. We always wanted to play 11 to make it more competitive, though, so we asked him 'Why?'

^{England's latest series against Australia began just days after they lifted the T20 World Cup [Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]}

"He said, 'If we say we are playing 11 they will create a series, a pre-series, ahead of the official matches, with sponsorship, everything, and there's a bit of a hoo-ha. It then becomes extra fixtures on the list, and players feel obliged to play in it'.

"In 2019 less than a week after we (England) won the (50-over) World Cup, players were playing in a Test match at Lord's against Ireland. We've had problems with this jam-packed schedule for a while, and I don't have an answer at the moment."

Asked if he expects to see players choose two out of three formats as Stokes has done, he said: "I think so… and maybe even less. Which format do you pick? Is it determined by the board or the player?

"Ben being the experienced guy that he is had the courage to decide, but young players won't have that. Of course we want Ben to play in the World Cup, everyone wants to see that, but humans can't play every day. Something has to give."

Sir Andrew Strauss told The Cricketer a few years back that he wanted to see a summer of six men's Tests, six ODIs and six T20Is when he was MD of the England men's team. Across a regular year of bilateral encounters this would convert to 60 days' of Test cricket, and 24 international white-ball days.

^{England are hoping to tempt Ben Stokes back into the 50-over fold [Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]}

"I don't think what our fans want at home is the same as what people want away from home," said Morgan. "This is sport, entertainment, you give people what they want. Countries who rarely play Test cricket want more white-ball games.

"You only get the right answer if you ask the right question. The right question is, 'Where will the game be in 10 years?' England will play Test cricket, and we are lucky that people still enjoy playing for their country and take pride in that… but if I'm honest I think that there is a danger that cricket will follow football and go down the club/Champions League route.

"It is why West Indies are where they are at the moment. It's a consequence of players being allowed to choose franchise leagues over their countries. Now there is a rebuilding process because they have lost so many players."

On a happier note, Morgan has joined forces with his friends Jos Buttler and Brendon McCullum to launch a Festival of Cricket next summer.

Run in partnership with Brand Events, the plan is to offer cricket, family fun, food and music from Friday, July 14 to Sunday, July 16 at Gunnersbury Park in London.

^{Morgan is launching a cricket festival with Jos Buttler and Brendon McCullum [Stu Forster/Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]}

"This didn't start out as a festival," Morgan said. "Me, Baz and Jos were chatting about the impact that major cricket events have had on our lives… the 1999 and 2003 World Cups for me and Jos, and Test cricket for Baz, and the 2015 World Cup and the role he played in changing the mindset of New Zealanders, giving so much hope and pleasure to people.

"We focus a lot on the wrongs of the game, but this will be a platform to come and celebrate the game. It will be for someone in love with cricket all their life, to someone who just wants to try something different."

The Cricketer saw the map of the festival, with zones belonging to 'Baz, Jos, Eoin and Jimmy' (presumably Anderson). Morgan said: "You can come and have a go at umpiring, you can learn about the history of the game, practise slip catches, batting in a cage, learn how to commentate, or watch a bat being made."

It sounds fun. Let's hope it helps the game expand.