Tom Harrison says there is a “great opportunity” to “reset” red-ball cricket in England’s game after the national team’s defeat in the Ashes.

England lost the first three Tests in Australia this winter as they lost the series after just 12 days of cricket.

Joe Root’s team lost nine of their total of 15 Tests in 2021 and were dismissed for less than 200 on 13 occasions last year.

The focus on white-ball cricket helped England win the 50th World Cup in 2019 at home, but ECB chief executive Harrison says it is time to improve the balance between formats.

He said: “Our priority is Test cricket. We definitely want to be successful in white-ball cricket, but we absolutely have to be successful in Test cricket.

Joe Root’s England team lost the Ashes series in just 12 days

“I think the time has come to reinstate the importance of red-ball cricket in our domestic calendar, so that we can re-examine the way we play top-class cricket in the UK.

Harrison: Ashes ride exceptionally hard

“It’s a great opportunity for us to come together as a sport and really settle this forever. Sometimes the ability to change something is as complex as our schedule, when you have performance-related Problems happen, and we have one now.

“It has been an extraordinarily difficult tour. I don’t think we can forget the fact that this has been another very disappointing episode in our relentless pursuit of winning the Ashes in Australia.

“We really need to get to the bottom of this once and for all and make sure the debate answers the questions we are asking. We should not be intimidated by some of these questions.

“Let’s strike the right balance between the red ball and the white ball, see when we play red ball cricket, the field we play on, the ball we use.”

Harrison: “How we manage the player’s workload will obviously be a major concern as we move into 2022”

“Players’ workload is a major concern”

On England’s busy international schedule, Harrison said: “We have to see the schedule – everybody knows that.

“How we handle player workloads will obviously be a major concern as we move into 2022.

“Internationally, as we emerge from the immediate aftermath of COVID, we need to look at how we manage device workloads.

“This is something the ICC General Managers Committee has to deal with in cycles. It is a tough challenge for world cricket. ,

Harrison also suggested there was “a strong case” for more information on cricket on the ECB board and offered its full support for Root to continue as Test captain.

He was less keen on the subject of his own bonus scheme, however, as Harrison and other senior ECB officials were reportedly determined to split a pot of upwards of £2 million.

Asked whether it was appropriate to accept payment at a time when performance is under the microscope and finances are affected by the pandemic, Harrison said, “It’s a question about an employment contract.

“The board has set the criteria by which we are judged and it is their business. ,