Tim Southee wants all the international cricket boards and franchises around the world to work together and devise a plan to make choices easier for professional cricketers who are currently burdened by the dilemma of picking between the two.
Southee is reasonably concerned as New Zealand Cricket is struggling to keep its top-drawer players motivated to play international cricket for the country.
Several big names like Kane Williamson, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult and Adam Milne have already opted out of the central contracts offered by NZC and they are joined by Devon Conway and Finn Allen - two of the latest players to decline central contracts in search of new avenues in franchise competitions around the world.
"Yeah, I think that's decisions that each individual board are taking into account," Southee was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo in Mumbai on the sidelines of the CEAT cricket rating awards about the growing clashes between international cricket and franchise tournaments.
"So at this stage, obviously the franchise leagues and the franchise world is growing. It would be nice to see the international [boards] and the leagues working together in some way because, especially Test cricket, I think for a lot of players is still the pinnacle of the format.
"I guess it's the way that cricket is going and then the amount of T20 leagues that are popping up. To look at it from Kane (Williamson) and Devon's (Conway) point of view, they're still committed to New Zealand cricket, and we've got nine Test matches coming up. So they're committed to those Test matches. So as far as the Test side is concerned, it's not too dissimilar. They're still going to be there even though they don't have a New Zealand contract."
Talking about himself, Southee mentioned that he still prioritises Test cricket over everything else and feels that franchise competitions help add to a player's skill set.
"Format-wise, I think Test cricket is still the pinnacle for me and the format I hold closest to the heart," Southee said. "I really enjoy the T20, the Hundred format keeps you young, keeps you guessing, keeps you thinking and trying to improve your game, and your skill set, which helps across the other formats."
