Australia, England, India and the International Cricket Council’s new chair Jay Shah are in talks to split Test cricket into two divisions so the big three nations can play each other more often in series like the just-completed Border-Gavaskar blockbuster.
Shah, Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird and England Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson are set to meet later this month. According to two sources with knowledge of talks, a two-tier structure for Test cricket is firmly on the agenda.
Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah before the Border-Gavaskar series.Credit: Getty Images
Their discussions have been given further impetus by enormous crowds and broadcast audiences for Australia’s five matches against India over the past two months, the fourth-best attended series ever in this country and reportedly the most-watched Test series ever played.
Any plan for a move to two divisions in Test cricket would kick in after the end of the current Future Tours Program in 2027, a year which will also feature a 150th anniversary Test match between Australia and England at the MCG.
Numerous senior figures in and around the game have lately argued for more of the “best versus the best” in Test matches, including former India coach Ravi Shastri, who has complained of too much “clutter” in the current schedule.
“I’ve been a firm believer in that if you want Test cricket to survive and be alive and thriving, I think that’s the way to go,” Shastri said on SEN during the SCG Test. “The top teams play against each other more often, so there is a contest; you want contests.”
Should Australia, England and India be freed from having to play as many nations, they would be able to rejig their cycles to play each other twice every three years, rather than twice every four years as is currently the case.
In Australia, that would mean the financial cycle of the game would move faster, with only one year of possible “downside” in every four, rather than two out of four as is currently the case. State associations have been agitated with CA for improved distributions in recent times.
India, England and Australia are also conscious of the rapid growth of Twenty20 franchise leagues and private ownership, all of which is creating more competition for players and calendar space. The principals of the powerful GMR Group, owners of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL and recent buyers of the Hampshire county cricket club, were a visible presence at the SCG Test.
“It comes down to profitable cricket versus unprofitable cricket,” one industry source said.
A two-tiered future?
Possible seven-team first division for Test cricket
South Africa, Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Second division
West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
The concept of two tiers in Test cricket was previously floated at ICC level in 2016, with a model where seven nations would compete in the top division and five in the second rank.
However it was ultimately shelved when the BCCI heard the protests of smaller nations, who argued that their hard-won right to enter the exclusive club of Test-playing nations would be degraded by the structure.
At the time, the BCCI, Sri Lanka Cricket, the BCB and Zimbabwe Cricket opposed the proposal, while it had support from the boards of Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies.
“The BCCI is against the two-tier Test system because the smaller countries will lose out and the BCCI wants to take care of them,” then-BCCI president Anurag Thakur said in 2016. “It is necessary to protect their interests.
Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins at Lord’s last year.Credit: Getty
“In the two-tier system, they will lose out on a lot, including revenue and the opportunity to play against top teams. We don’t want that to happen. We want to work in the best interests of world cricket and that is why our team plays against all the countries.”
Eight years later, however, money is talking ever louder to the big three boards, with the Indian broadcaster Disney Star seeing a growing gap between the marquee series and others. Australian broadcasters Foxtel and Seven are also eager for more matches involving India and England.
“The more the better!” one senior broadcast figure said.
Shah won the support of Australia and England to take over as ICC chair last year, ahead of the expiry of his final term as BCCI secretary.
A change in cricket’s structure would mean the current world Test championship only runs for one more cycle, despite providing greater jeopardy and context since its inception in 2019.
It has been subject to sustained criticism from England, in particular, with Ben Stokes’ team arguing that the WTC is too hard to understand and penalises teams that play more cricket. England have never been close to qualifying for the final.
“In all honesty, the world Test championship, it is a bit confusing,” Stokes said in New Zealand in November. “I don’t look at it … it’s a real weird one knowing that you’re playing for something over a long period of time.”
