England want revamped Ashes schedule

LONDON, Oct 20, 2006 (AFP) - England want to revamp future Ashes series in an effort to boost their hopes of winning a first ever World Cup.

David Collier

David Collier, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), has opened negotiations with Australia with the aim of breaking the four-year fixture cycle which pitches them on a five-Test tour of Australia in the build-up to every World Cup.England believe the one-day squad's World Cup preparations are limited because in an Ashes winter the Test series will always take precedence.

Andrew Flintoff's England will embark on their Ashes defence in November just three months before the next World Cup in the Caribbean gets underway in March next year.

The ECB's plan is to continue playing Australia home and away every four years - but to move those contests a year earlier in the cycle to avoid clashing with the World Cup.

Collier explained: “We have been looking at how we can break that cycle. “It is something we are talking to Australia about - whether we can have a different cycle.

“The idea would be to bring it (the Ashes) forward by one year on a one-off basis.

Duncan Fletcher

“At the moment the Ashes and the World Cup come in the same cycle and if you talk to the coach Duncan Fletcher his goals are twin - the Ashes and the World Cup.

“But if we had the Ashes one year and the World Cup the next year you'd be trying to peak certain one-day players at different times.

“You would also end up having two slightly different sides.”