World Cricketers Association (WCA) CEO Tom Mofatt has for a long time now raised concerns about the global structure of the game, and has spoken about the ongoing chaotic global cricket schedule crisis in the context of the Global Super League (GSL) T20 competition, established with Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

 During the April’s CARICOM Cricket symposium in Trinidad and Tobago when Guyana President Irfan Ali announced the GSL, he stated: “The World Premier League we’re hoping can replace what used to be the Champions League. That league would have had the best sides coming together to play to recognize the best franchise team.” The tournament has proven to be nowhere similar to the disbanded champions league that ran from 2008-2014 under the joint control of the BCCI, Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket South Africa (CSA). None of the participating teams are current domestic T20 champions in their franchise leagues.

 The most egregious example being the presence of Victoria state in the GSL competing at the same time whilst its main team is competing in the Sheffield Shield in Australia. Australia-based Moffat addressed the GSL in the wider context of WCAs commissioning it's independent global game structure review in August to find lasting solutions on global issues regarding global scheduling and global game economics.

 “We’re fortunate to be able to look at the game’s issues at a macro global level and whilst it is not for WCA to tell domestic bodies what to do with their teams in their own jurisdiction, the idea of two teams under the same umbrella competing at the same time is not a new one in cricket,” said Moffat.

 “It mirrors what international teams among some bigger nations have done in recent years, where two completely different national teams from the same country are playing at same time or in close proximity in bilateral international cricket. Both reflect a chaotic global schedule. We hope the event is successful and the last thing we want to do is stifle entrepreneurial thinking and new investment in our sport, but we want that to occur within a coherent global scheduling framework.

 “There is currently no agreed framework for everyone to schedule within, and that means there is often cricket that is played to fill gaps in the calendar or short-term thinking. We have been consistent for a long time in urging the game of cricket to come together and provide more order and structure and a global calendar that makes sense to fans and players.”

 Moffat highlighted where WCA sees silver linings amidst the confusion.

 “Cricket has a lot of fantastic ingredients to be the envy of a lot of sports because of the three formats to utilize and maximize the markets where cricket is strong in and can grow into. We are even seeing in the leagues landscape a positive dynamic where franchise ownership is spreading their brands and teams globally, which can be really positive," he said.

 Moffat further addressed the role in CWI sanctioning GSL as a full-member nation and the tournament having no push back or skepticism by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

 “We (WCA) are on record saying the ICC tournament sanctioning regulations are far from perfect. There have generally been different rules for full members and associate members to set up leagues and full members have had the ability to sanction leagues in their own territories. The nature of the rules make it impossible to get uniformity and consistency in the leagues landscape across the world. From a player perspective, it also means there is also no consistency on terms and conditions and protections on basic things like contract standards and enforcement and freedom of movement. That is a big issue for the sport and the players who are central to its success.”

(GSLT20/GettyImages)

 In the 2022 WCA’s third Men’s global employment report, West Indies was ranked as having a below average domestic contracts and domestic player earnings by global standards.

 Asked if WCA sees a correlation with the CWI domestic pay discrepancy and the ability of a GSL-style league to be formed in the Caribbean by a deep-pocket nation state or business entity, Moffat surmised its a global issue rather than specific West Indies.

 “This is a global market forces issue. The trend in the medium and small cricket nations markets in the last decade is that players get better remuneration playing in T20 leagues than in international cricket or traditional domestic cricket. If you get paid twice the amount for half the work, most people in all career pathways would take that option and it's often a straightforward decision for players in their short term careers. They’re also playing within a game structure and schedule that is set by the game’s administrators - conflicts in the schedule are not the players doing,” said Moffat.

 "WCA has always been supportive of international cricket and wants it to thrive, including in places like the West Indies where there is such a rich tradition to the game. But to ensure that is sustainable, some significant changes to the global structure of the game and scheduling will be required.”

 “These are not easy issues to solve particularly in a global sport. But those and many others are under close review by the expert groups we have compiled from across the game including players and their representatives and other stakeholders.

 “There is no silver bullet, but there are some pretty smart heads looking at the Global Game Structure Review process, which will try to give some recommendations on some of the things that might be sustainable solutions to the problems that have been consistently raised by all stakeholders during our process, not just the players.”, Moffat concluded