Bilateral Series: Structure, Scheduling, and Cricket Politics
How bilateral cricket series — two-nation tours that form the backbone of international cricket scheduling — are structured, how long they last, how the FTP (Future Tours Programme) governs which nations play each other and when, why bilateral series are under commercial pressure from franchise T20 leagues, and how home-and-away balance is maintained across the international calendar.
What a Bilateral Series Is
A bilateral series is a scheduled block of international cricket between two nations, typically consisting of a set of Tests, ODIs, and T20Is played over 4-8 weeks. For example: India touring England for 5 Tests + 3 ODIs + 3 T20Is constitutes a bilateral series. The visiting team plays all matches in the host country's grounds; the host board retains broadcast and gate revenue from home matches. The most commercially significant bilateral series in cricket are: England vs India (highest combined TV viewership), The Ashes (Australia vs England in Tests), India vs Australia, and India vs Pakistan (when it occurs, which is rarely outside ICC events due to political restrictions).
The Future Tours Programme (FTP)
The ICC's Future Tours Programme governs which nations play each other across a multi-year cycle. The FTP operates in 4-year cycles aligned with the World Test Championship cycles. In the current model, Full Members (Test-playing nations) are assigned bilateral series against other Full Members on a rotating schedule. The FTP determines: how many Tests and white-ball matches each bilateral series contains, which boards host which tours, and when series occur. The FTP is driven by commercial considerations — the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) wields disproportionate influence because India's bilateral series generate the most revenue, meaning scheduling decisions often revolve around India's calendar.
Commercial Pressure and the T20 League Conflict
Franchise T20 leagues — the IPL, BBL, PSL, SA20, ILT20, and others — operate on fixed annual windows that pull players away from bilateral commitments. Nations with significant domestic T20 leagues protect those windows in ICC negotiations, meaning bilateral series are squeezed into the remaining calendar space. The practical result: Test series between major nations have shortened in some cases (4-Test series where 5 once existed), and bilateral tours to smaller nations are frequently traded for ICC event rights. The 2023 ICC's mandate to protect bilateral Test cricket against T20 franchise encroachment produced only partial results — bilateral commitments have stabilised but Test match volume has not increased significantly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the World Test Championship and how does it relate to bilateral series?
The World Test Championship (WTC) is the ICC's points-based competition for Test cricket, operating in 2-year cycles. Each bilateral Test series between Full Members contributes WTC points based on the result — teams accumulate points across all their bilateral series over the 2-year cycle, and the top 2 teams on the WTC standings at cycle end play a WTC Final. The WTC gives bilateral Test series a competitive stakes beyond the series itself: a bilateral series win now also affects a team's WTC standing and potentially their qualification for the Final. This has increased the perceived importance of some Test series that previously had only bilateral bragging rights as their prize.
How long do typical bilateral tours last?
Tour duration varies significantly by team size and format mix. A full bilateral tour (Tests + ODIs + T20Is) typically runs 6-8 weeks including travel time and warm-up matches. A pure T20I series (4-5 matches) might be scheduled for 12-15 days. The longest tours in modern cricket are England-Australia Ashes series (typically 7 weeks for a 5-Test series with 3 preceding warm-up matches) and India's major tours (often 6-8 weeks for a full three-format programme). During COVID (2020-2021), biosecure bubbles shortened tours by removing travel and reducing warm-up games, leading to 'bat-and-go' tours where teams played matches without traditional acclimatisation periods.
Why do home teams have an advantage in bilateral series?
Home advantage in cricket is among the most pronounced in any sport, arising from: pitch preparation (home boards prepare pitches that suit their bowlers — spinning pitches in the subcontinent for spin-heavy sides, green seaming tracks in England for swing-heavy sides); crowd support and atmosphere familiarity; climatic conditions that home players are accustomed to; travel fatigue and time zone adjustment for touring teams; and the fact that home players spend the entire series in familiar conditions while tourists adapt from their first week. Win rates for the home team in Test cricket historically run around 35-40%, with draws around 30% and away wins around 25-30% — home advantage is significant but not overwhelming.