I have been seeing the split of Test cricket coming for a long, long time. Years ago I suggested that they have two divisions in Test match cricket. And this was before T20 swamped this landscape.
What I suggested then was two divisions of six, with promotion and relegation, played over a three or four-year cycle. But I would like to see the top teams, in Division One, play the teams in Division Two once in each cycle.
If the top teams want to play each other twice in the cycle, that is fine, because there are only six – as long as they play the teams in the bottom division once in that cycle. It does not have to be five Test matches. It could be two or three Tests.
It does not really encourage a great deal of improvement from the teams in the bottom six if they are only playing against similar-quality teams. If they are not playing against people that are much better than them, they will not improve. If you do not run against somebody faster than you, you will not run any faster.
For example, West Indies would never tour England if they were in Division Two and England were in Division One. But teams in Division Two would host teams in Division One – meaning the bottom six could attract interest and television rights.
Bangladesh touring England is not going to attract a great deal in television rights. But England going to Bangladesh – you can guarantee that will attract television coverage and crowds, because people want to see the good teams that will also help Bangladesh improve. They can measure themselves against the top teams to see how far back they are and what they need to do to get better.
The West Indies celebrate after defeating Australia in Brisbane in 2024.Credit: Getty Images
When England visit their countries, when India visit their countries, when Australia visit their countries, they will make money. It has to be a matter for the International Cricket Council but they seem to be so weak. They have got to get some strength where they can dictate a proper schedule and say, ‘this is what has to happen’.
And people do not just go about and do as they feel like. Because next thing you know, Australia, England, India or whoever are going to say, ‘Oh, I’m not going to that country. Waste of time. Why should I go?’ It has to be something that’s mandatory. This is what you do. For all its faults, at least FIFA actually runs soccer. The ICC must run cricket.
If there is no promotion and relegation, the top division will just keep on making all the money. The bottom division will get poorer and teams will disappear. Maybe that is what they want. I get the impression that a lot of these countries that have a lot of money and take all the money out of the game want to continue and perhaps make it worse. But if they are interested in the entire cricketing landscape being better, they have to go down that route. If Division Two teams have Division One teams visiting them and can sell the television rights for good money, they have the chance to pay their players a little bit better.
Michael Holding bowling in Australia.Credit: Fairfax Photographic
And there would be a chance of teams getting into Division One if they play good enough cricket. I do not want to just use West Indies as an example. Any team in Division Two should be very competitive against the other teams in Division Two. They get a chance to play against teams in Division One. They can see, OK, this is what I need to do to improve my game. I have a chance of getting into Division One. And of course, there is more money to be had in Division One.
The ICC is the problem. They should distribute the money that they are making very differently – so poorer teams have a chance. It is still unofficially the Big Three, they control matters. They take the majority of the money from the ICC, from the sale of the ICC tournaments. So how does the rich getting rich and the poor getting poorer help the game?
If they have the two divisions, and do what I suggest, then 12 Test nations can be maintained. If they do not, the poor will just keep getting poorer, and soon they will disappear, because people will not even bother to play against them. When has England last played Bangladesh in England? It was 2010.
We know who the Big Three are. All you have to do is look at the sharing of the ICC funds. You see who gets what percentage. You know the big three countries get more than 50 per cent of the money. What do the other nine countries get?
I would love to see people responsible for the game, being truly responsible for the game, and not being just responsible for a few countries to better themselves.
London Telegraph
