Vaughan blasts ICC decision to defer World Test Championship to 2017

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) for shelving the proposed World Test Championship play-off.

ICC officials have decided to delay the four-team tournament - due to be held in England in 2013 - in favour of a one-day Champions Trophy because of fears over lost sponsorship revenue.

According to The Sun, Vaughan believes that money - and a lack of appetite from the game's richest country India - has seen an opportunity to boost the highest form of the game missed.

He said: "It tells you that the ICC are managing the game for finance - they feel they will earn more money from a Champions Trophy.

I wonder if it would have been slightly different if India had beaten England 4-0 in the Tests this year though."

That Test drubbing By England in the summer saw Vaughan attract a volley of abuse on Twitter from Indian fans in response to some tongue-in-cheek comments he made on the social networking site.

But the 2005 Ashes winner recognises the good done by the cricket-crazed country.

He added: "You can't question how much Indian cricket brings to the game. There is the fascination of their supporters, the expertise of their team and the financial prowess of their board. There isn't much money in cricket around the world, but there is in India."

The Test championship now looks set to be played in 2017, meaning current world No1 side England are likely to be a very different set of players by then.