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The USA Cricket Association is planning a “strategic partnership” with New Zealand Cricket in a bid to develop the sport in America.

Cricinfo reports that the proposed agreement covers a variety of activities, from sharing coaching resources to staging international fixtures involving the two countries.

USACA’s chief executive Don Lockerbie said: “USA cricket can learn greatly from the experience and knowledge of NZC, and we believe there are real and significant cricketing benefits and commercial opportunities possible through this partnership.”

Justin Vaughan, chief executive of NZC, added: “Cricket in the United States is at a very exciting stage, and we are enthusiastic about the prospect of helping USACA significantly grow the game in their country. The benefits of cricket becoming more established in the USA are globally significant for the sport.”

Meanwhile, former Australia captain Greg Chappell believes Test cricket is under threat from the shorter forms of the game and must change to survive.

“I’m of the belief that we can support the three formats but obviously we have to give a very long and hard think about how best they work together,” Chappell said. “I have a belief that we need to make each series, whether it’s 20-, 50-over or a Test match series, a lot more relevant.

“I think the format that is under most pressure with 20-over cricket coming in is Test cricket. It has been struggling for some time. Economically, some countries find it very difficult to be competitive and therefore it affects economically the viability of Test series between some countries.

“I have a feeling that Test cricket is going to reduce in size rather than grow in size. I can see the time when perhaps there will only be four or five major countries playing Test match cricket. It’s another reason why I think 50-over cricket needs to be supported and given a rethink because 50-over cricket could well become the Test cricket of the future for a lot of cricket-playing countries.

“There are only probably four or five countries that have the critical mass and have the infrastructure that will allow them to produce competitive Test match teams on a regular basis. That is a problem and it’s been exacerbated by the success of 20-over cricket.”