The 2025 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack delivers a sharp rebuke of international cricket’s governance, taking particular aim at the World Test Championship’s flawed structure and the growing influence of Indian cricket authorities. While recognizing the year’s standout players and moments, the publication levels serious criticism at how the sport is being run at the highest level.
Wisden editor Lawrence Booth did not mince words regarding the current state of the World Test Championship (WTC), describing it as “a shambles masquerading as a showpiece.”
In a blistering critique, he emphasized that its disjointed format undermines Test cricket’s integrity: “The ICC cannot allow the championship to continue as if designed on the back of a fag packet. Double its length to four years, like football and rugby, and ensure the top nine in the rankings all play each other, home and away, over series of at least three Tests.”
“As 2024 repeatedly reminded us, Test cricket is more competitive than proponents of a two-tier system believe. West Indies prevailed at the Gabba, Sri Lanka at the Oval. Bangladesh won in Pakistan, who came from behind to beat England, who won in New Zealand, who had just won 3-0 in India, who won the first Test in Australia, who won three of the next four. Early in 2025, West Indies squared a series in Pakistan. Unpredictability is the essence of sport.
“The response to all this must not be to insist on more, more, more – diluting the marquee series until they lose what makes them special. It must be to resist two divisions, and to invest in Test cricket everywhere, creating a more attractive proposition for the broadcasters. ICC insiders fear they will get nothing like their £2.4 billion TV deal that runs out in 2027, with potentially damaging consequences for many Test nations. It’s in everyone’s interests to share the love.”
Booth argued that this mismanagement does not reflect poorly on participating nations like South Africa, who reached the final despite limited Test fixtures. “This is not South Africa’s fault. It may even be to their benefit, if the path from laughing stocks to Lord’s persuades their board that Test cricket is worth saving.”
Further intensifying his criticism, Booth pointed to the unchecked power of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), whose influence over global cricket governance has reached new heights with Jay Shah’s appointment as ICC chair. “The communal shrug [that met Shah’s appointment] confirmed a sorry truth: 2024 was the year cricket gave up any claim to being properly administered, with checks, balances, and governance for the many, not the few. India already had the monopoly: now they had hotels on Park Lane and Mayfair.”
“It is often said the ICC has become little more than an events company. The craven reorganisation of the Champions Trophy, with India’s games moved at the 11th hour from Pakistan to the Gulf – three years after the schedule had been agreed by everyone, including Shah’s BCCI – failed to clear even that low bar.
“England and Australia, the only other countries with a hint of clout, acquiesced with barely a squeak. Shah’s coronation – uncontested, naturally – was in no small part a consequence of their refusal to hold India to account. A decade or so earlier, the talk had been of a Big Three takeover. Now, cricket has handed over the only key not already in India’s possession. All hail the Big One.”
While Booth’s editorial drew focus to the political and administrative side of the sport, Wisden 2025 also offered heartfelt human stories. Among them is a deeply personal tribute to former England batter Graham Thorpe, who tragically died by suicide in August. Contributions from Alec Stewart and Amanda Thorpe paint a poignant picture of his mental health struggles and legacy. Amanda Thorpe shared a powerful message on empathy and understanding: “Some people say suicide is selfish. But I have so much compassion for what he went through. He didn’t deserve it. No one does.”
Balancing celebration with critique, Wisden’s latest edition urges a serious reconsideration of how international cricket is structured and governed, while ensuring the human stories behind the sport remain front and center.
