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In short:
The International Cricket Council is reportedly set to create a two-tier Test cricket format, with larger nations playing more frequently against each other.
West Indies legends such as Clive Lloyd heavily criticised the plan, but Michael Vaughan and Ravi Shastri said it was a good idea.
What’s next?
International Cricket Council (ICC) India president Jay Shah will reportedly meet with representatives of the Australian and English cricket boards this month to discuss the plan.
Think back, if you can, to January 28th of last year.
Australia were still licking their wounds after being beaten by the West Indies at the Gabba, with Guyana’s rookie fast bowler Shamar Joseph in fine form.
The team, who Rod Hogg had described as “pathetic and hopeless”, had just triumphed at the Gabba.
Days like this have been rare in the West Indies in recent years.
But under widely reported plans to introduce a two-tier system in Test cricket, West Indies’ trip to Australia for a Test match may not happen any time soon.
Does a two-tier set-up already exist?
Familiarity does seem to breed contempt between the two teams. (Getty Images: Cricket Australia/Daniel Pockett)
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the two-tier system would allow the “big three” of India, Australia and England to play each other more frequently, while also providing more meaningful matches for smaller Test nations.
This is a model that the European Nations League is exploring in international football.
There, teams will play against nations of similar level, which avoids shocking disparities in quality and provides moments of joy for smaller nations, such as San Marino’s victory over Liechtenstein at the end of last year, ending a 140-match losing streak that spanned more than 20 years.
There is reason to think that, despite the heroics of the West Indies last January, their resistance in Australia has been weak for decades. After all, the island nations have won just one of the 18 Test matches they have played in Australia.
Then again, England are winless in their last 15 games, losing 13 and drawing 2, so perhaps the Ashes shouldn’t be held in Australia until England improves their overseas performances.
Reports say International Cricket Council (ICC) India president Jay Shah will meet with representatives of the Australian and English cricket boards this month to discuss the plan.
Of course, the Big Three have played more Test cricket against each other than any other team.
The recent series between Australia and India featured record attendances and attention to the match, and it was an engrossing contest that Australia ultimately won 3-1 – they should get used to this type of game.
Australia will play India and England 24 times during this four-year cycle.
That’s more Tests than Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe have played combined, and only slightly less than West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
England, meanwhile, will play Australia and India 10 times each.
Bangladesh has played in Tests since 2000. Australia has played six Tests. Zimbabwe has played in Tests since 1992, while Australia has played only three times.
It has never played Ireland or Afghanistan in a Test match.
Lloyd says two-tier set-up will be ‘terrible’
Clive Lloyd is one of cricket’s greatest ever players. (Getty Images: Allsport/Hulton Archive/Adrian Murrell)
West Indies great Clive Lloyd said he was “very disturbed” by the idea.
Lloyd, widely regarded as one of the greatest captains in Test cricket history and leading one of the greatest teams in the game’s history, said the plans would be disastrous for a team such as the West Indies.
“I think this is a terrible thing for countries that have been fighting so hard to get testing,” Lloyd said.
“Now they will play each other in the bottom half. How can they get to the top when you play against better teams.”
He wasn’t the only one who disagreed.
Former England bowler Stephen Finn told the BBC it was “greedy”.
“I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s good for the game,” Finn said.
“I think it’s greedy – monetising something as pure as Test cricket feels like it’s tarnishing the sport. I feel really uncomfortable with that.”
ABC cricket commentator Jim Maxwell agreed.
“Pure greed,” he wrote on X/Twitter.
“Self-interest always comes first. Australia is negligent. There has to be a better way to accommodate the small fish.”
Those in favour, raise your hands
Michael Vaughan (right) says he wants more Ashes matches to adopt a two-tier system. (Getty Images: Stu Forster)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, those supporting the move are aligned with the so-called Big Three.
Writing in his Daily Telegraph column, Michael Vaughan said: “I am pleased to see that the International Cricket Council is considering a two-tier structure from 2027, with the Ashes held every three years.
“I have long said that this is the way to keep Test cricket relevant is to ensure the best players play as often as possible at their best so there are fewer mismatches.”
Vaughan acknowledged there had been some “significant surprises” but said they were “only a few”.
Vaughan added: “I have no doubt that people will be disappointed when they hear that West Indies, Bangladesh and even some other much-loved teams are missing out on the top flight.
“They do have their moments of brilliance but more often than not they struggle against the top teams and without radical change the results are sadly not going to be good.”
Perhaps Vaughan failed to notice that the other discrepancies were in the International Cricket Council’s current financial distribution model, which sees India receiving about 38.5 per cent of revenues, while Australia, England and Pakistan receive just 6 per cent, with the rest of the countries receiving between 2 per cent and 5 per cent.
Granted, India makes 80 percent of all this money, but the redistribution is hardly equitable.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri said the move would be good for Test cricket.
“The top teams are playing each other more often so matches are inevitable. You want to play,” Shastri told SEN Radio during the fifth Test match at the SCG.
He added: “This (Australia vs India series) is a stark reminder that for the survival of Test cricket, the best teams should play at their best.
“Otherwise it would be too confusing.”
Smaller nations potentially welcome change
Ireland and Zimbabwe rarely play Test cricket. (Getty Images: Sportsfile/Oliver McVeigh)
It’s not just the top-flight side that are backing the idea, though. Ireland’s chief selector Andrew White is also in favour of the idea. Ireland have played almost no Test cricket since being included in the top-flight full-time squad in 2017, playing just nine matches.
In March, he told the BBC: “I think that’s the real issue that needs to be addressed, to be honest.
“At the Test level, the gap between Afghanistan and England, India and Australia is huge.
“We want to give the players a chance to play and improve and give these games some context.
“If there is a two-tier Test Championship then the players will have something to play for.”
Former West Indies great Michael Holding also said a two-tier format was inevitable to some extent.
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Writing in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Holding said: “I saw this coming a long, long time ago.
He said two levels of six-team competition could go ahead as long as certain conditions were met, including that each team from League One play a team from League Two once per cycle.
He wrote: “Without promotion and relegation, the top flight would continue to make money.
“The bottom leagues will get weaker and weaker and teams will disappear.
“Maybe that’s what they want.
“The International Cricket Council is the problem. They should distribute the money they earn differently to give weaker teams a chance.
“I would like to see the people who are responsible for the sport actually take responsibility for the sport, not just a few countries, to make it better.”
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