England’s men’s cricket team will face an imbalanced Test schedule in the upcoming Future Tours Programme (FTP), as the ECB pushes for more five-match home series while accepting an increase in single Test matches abroad.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is moving away from the traditional reciprocal home-and-away series principle in the next World Test Championship (WTC), which kicks off with the home Ashes next summer. The ECB has already initiated discussions with South Africa and Pakistan for five-Test tours for the first time in decades, while future visits to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh could consist of just one Test, supplemented by shorter-format games that offer greater commercial value for host boards.
This shift comes as the International Cricket Council plans to expand the WTC to include all 12 Test-playing nations, with Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan joining the single division for the first time. In a major change, one-off Test matches will now count toward the WTC standings, ending the previous requirement of minimum two-Test series. As a result, England’s first Test in Zimbabwe since 1996-97 is being considered, though the ECB will not send a team to Afghanistan.
The ECB supports this one-Test solution, arguing it gives smaller nations more opportunities while aligning with their own strategy to protect Test cricket’s future. Internal research shows Test matches remain the most popular format across all age groups in England, prompting the board to organise longer home series similar to those against Australia and India, who tour for five Tests every four years.
The ECB has already proposed a five-Test tour to South Africa in 2032, with a repeat in 2036 if successful. Pakistan is a backup option. However, the ECB will not demand full Test tours overseas, acknowledging that such tours are not commercially viable in many markets.
Under the proposed new WTC format from an ICC working group, each of the 12 teams must play 12 matches against at least eight different opponents over two years. The top two teams will meet in the WTC final, held at Lord’s until 2031. Crucially, no team is required to play every other team, giving boards considerable flexibility over their fixtures. The ECB will not sanction matches against Afghanistan outside ICC global events.
ECB chair Richard Thompson previously condemned the Taliban regime for “gender apartheid” and “appalling oppression” of women and girls ahead of England’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan last year, while rejecting calls from 160 cross-party MPs to boycott the game. Similarly, India will not be required to face Pakistan in the expanded WTC unless both reach the final, which would be played on neutral ground.
