ECB to pay Zimbabwe touring fee for 2025 Test

THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will become the first host board in the modern era to pay a touring fee in bilateral cricket when Zimbabwe arrive for a one-off Test next year, ECB chief Richard Gould has said.

Gould told Sky Sports on Friday that the ECB and other financially strong boards, such as the Indian and Australian boards, had a huge responsibility to ensure the competitiveness of Test cricket.

The longest format of the sport has become less popular outside the game’s heartlands amid the global rise of lucrative Twenty20 leagues and as smaller countries struggle to meet the growing financial costs of Test cricket.

“When you look at whether it’s the revenue share from the ICC (International Cricket Council) or indeed the revenue share from bilateral cricket, which is fairly old-fashioned in truth in the way that it’s delivered,” Gould said.

“Normally, the touring team gets themselves into the country and then they are looked after in terms of accommodation, all the rest of it, but there’s no fee for that team that’s touring.

“Next year, when we play against Zimbabwe, there will be a fee for that team that’s touring.”