The World Cup could be thing of the past under the ACA's plan
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The International Cricket Council is considering a radical plan that proposes to shake up one-day cricket and could mean scrapping the World Cup.
Tim May, head of the Australian Cricketers' Association, has drawn up a blueprint which incorporates a world championship table with one country annually crowned as champions.
The ACA has become increasingly concerned with the current state of the limited-overs game, and May revealed the plan has been informally submitted to the ICC.
A primary concern of the ACA is the proliferation of "one-sided matches across the globe".
The answer, May says, is to introduce an annual "Premier League" which will do away with all other one-day cricket - possibly including the World Cup.
"The document is a model that has been designed to stimulate thought and to propose a possible solution to the problems inherent in the current ODI structure," said May, a former Australia Test bowler.
May's blueprint bids to revolutionise limited-overs cricket
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"This model proposes a significant departure from cricket's tradition.
"If one-day cricket was to be invented tomorrow and you wanted to optimise revenues and spectator interest, what would you propose?
"A structured competition or a series of ad hoc, largely unrelated tournaments on a year-by-year basis?"
The ACA model would see each 11 teams playing 30 one-day games each year - three against each of the 10 other teams.
"They would play each team once at home, once away and once at a neutral venue," outlined May.
"Each country would get to see every other country play two games
in their country [one against home country and one against another neutral country].
"One-day international cricket as we know it would be totally scrapped.
"This 30-round competition would replace all other one-day international cricket."
The ICC's present championship table is updated after each one-day series or tournament around the world is completed.