Sometimes in sport as in life, you encounter an idea whose time has come. Ideas seldom come fully formed. Often they appear by accident and only years later do we marvel at their inevitability. The first one-day international was played in 1970-71 just to give spectators something to cheer about when an Ashes Test was rained off. Had India not won the T20 World Cup in 2007, the IPL might not have emerged. Or at least not so quickly.
The two-tier system for Test match cricket is an idea that has been around for at least two decades. After the current cycle of the World Test Championship ends in 2027, it might become reality. As many have pointed out, there is already a two-tier system: one involving India, the financial behemoths of the game, and the other not involving India. India have the television audience, the advertisers, and everything else including the team. So if the Board of Control for Cricket in India backs it, Test cricket will be played in two divisions. If not, then not.
Clive Lloyd, former West Indies captain has articulated the concerns of the second-division teams: “I think it will be terrible for all those countries who worked so hard to get the Test status,” he said. “Now they’ll be playing among themselves in the lower section. How are they going to make it to the top? When do you play against better teams?”
Simple solution
It is a valid fear. But there’s a simple solution. Divide the twelve teams so that the odd-number ranked ones fit into one group while the even-ranked ones make up the second. Going by today’s ICC rankings, therefore, Australia (No.1), India (No. 3), New Zealand (No.5), Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan would be together. In the other half would be South Africa, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland, Zimbabwe. Ensure teams play one another in a league in each half before qualifying for the next stage.
That way, there is no “lower division”, no endless matches among just India, England and Australia and every team has an incentive to do well against the top teams. Also, there would be no promotion and relegation. The World Test Championship would continue in this new format.
Cricket is at a stage when what the players want is different from what the cricket boards want which is different from what television wants. Somewhere in that mix is what the International Cricket Council wants, but that body functions like a social club which meets occasionally to endorse whatever India has to say. So if India moots the new plan, it will gain acceptance with maybe some tweaks.
A decade ago, Australia and England thought it would be a wheeze if they joined India in a Big Three formation that played matches among themselves, took in the biggest share of the money and as a useful insurance, also decided that in a two-tier system (they had to reluctantly acknowledge that some other countries played the game too), they would not be relegated. Good sense and a fair-minded
Shashank Manohar, newly elected Chairman of the ICC finally prevailed and the plan was set aside.
When Anurag Thakur was President of the BCCI he was against the two-tier plan, saying “We will continue to have an inclusive approach and ensure that everyone’s interest and the growth of cricket isn’t compromised.” The new chairman of the ICC, Jay Shah, might see things differently — but ultimately the plan will rise or fall by what India decides.
Fantastic year
Test cricket has been phenomenally successful in the year gone by. Only three of 53 Tests played were drawn (two of them thanks to the weather). Teams won 21 away Tests. Batters scored faster, bowlers claimed wickets more quickly. The traditional game attracted crowds. Obituaries written about it were shown to be premature.
Sometimes when the game is doing well, the authorities tend to bring in changes that ruin its health. And there are those who think the two-tier system is guaranteed to do just that. But this is one decision that looks inevitable from this side of the change rather than just from the other side.
Published – January 29, 2025 12:33 am IST
