||Desk Report||

ICC considered introducing Cricketer’s names and numbers on the back of their Test jerseys for the first time in the 142-year history of Test cricket. The new changes are proposed for the ICC Test Championship, which will begin with the Ashes 2019 in August, reports Wisden.

Cricketers’ names, numbers in Test jerseys is one of several changes being mulled ahead of a new cycle of Test cricket, which will run over a two-year cycle and feature the top nine teams competing in a league, leading up to a final. The other changes being mooted the use of a standard cricket ball- the SG, the Kookaburra and the Dukes and the use of countdown clock.

According to the Cricket Australia, cricketers in domestic first-class cricket competitions in England and Australia already wear numbers on their backs, but not in other countries. The regulations regarding shirt numbers in the JLT Sheffield Shield set their dimensions and state they must be no longer than two digits.

Cricketers’ names were a feature when coloured clothing was introduced at the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand while Test players have worn plain white or cream clothes since the first match in 1877. The only major change to have come along thus far was in 2001, when England introduced a cap number below the board’s crest, which denotes the order of the player’s appearance for his country. Other teams subsequently followed suit. Some nations such as Australia also have their initials stitched into the sleeve on the side of their dominant hand.

The players, reportedly, will be able to choose from numbers 1 to 99, and will likely select the same number as the one adorning their limited-overs jersey. The change has already been met with some resistance from the traditionalists but was welcomed by Australia batsman Travis Head.

"It doesn't bother me in the slightest, and I think if it helps the fans then that's a good thing," Head told to Cricket Australia.

"That's why they brought it into Shield cricket so that people could identify players they probably don't see all that often, especially now with games being live-streamed. Obviously, the detail in the television coverage these days is pretty good, so I guess this is aimed more at people who are at the ground."

Head pointed out the move was purely a cosmetic one, unlike the revolution of day-night Test cricket that has proven to be a firm favourite with fans around the globe.

"It's not like the introduction of the pink ball for Test cricket, it's one of those innovations that won't have a huge impact on the game itself," Head said.