Former Australian leg spinner Shane Warne has said that he has a six-point plan to further improve spectator interest in the game of cricket.

In an article for The Courier Mail, Warne says he thinks that overall cricket is in pretty good health, but believes that his six-point plan, if implemented, will ensure that the game continues to move in the right direction.

The six-point plan is as follows:

1) Fast-track umpires and raise their wages

Warne believes that the standard of umpiring is as low as he has known it in 20 years. While admitting that umpiring is a difficult job and technology exposes any mistakes, he believes that there is a need to fast track new and fresh umpires into the system and also to raise the wages of the men in white.

2) Scrap one-day internationals

Warne believes that cricket has evolved so much that the 50-over game has passed its sell-by date.

“From now on, we should be playing Tests and Twenty20 internationals, with a Twenty20 World Cup every two years. TV still gets seven hours of cricket every weekend, but it's Twenty20. Four-day games should start two hours later at 1pm, but finish at 7.30pm. That way people could come down after work for the final session,” he says.

He believes that by eliminating one-day cricket, players would be freed up to spend more time at domestic level, grass roots cricket and time at home with families.

3) Introduce a World Test Championship

... contd.