Two-tier system for Tests is an old idea whose time has come

For a long time now, the International Cricket Council has been contemplating a two-tier system for Test cricket. In 2004, David Richardson, then General Manager, hoped it would be in place in 2019 after being endorsed by the board at its 2016 meeting. That’s roughly the pace at which cricket administrators move.

Objections were raised at the 2016 meeting, mainly by India and the countries who felt that after working hard to get into the elite group, they didn’t want to be in the second division.

What if the leading teams (read: India, Australia, England) had to be relegated? Colin Graves, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board then, was quoted as saying, “We are all for it. If we end up in division two, it is our own fault.”

BCCI’s stand

The Board of Control for Cricket in India was against the plan because, in the words of Anurag Thakur, then president, “We will not allow any step which can shrink the popularity and development of the game. The BCCI will continue to have an inclusive approach and ensure that everyone’s interest and the growth of cricket isn’t compromised.” The BCCI, as always, was doing exactly what it wanted and finding apparently ethical justifications later.

The World Test Championship was worked out then since everybody felt that something needed to be done to give the format “context”.

In 2014, India, Australia and England worked out a two-tier system where none of the Big Three would ever be relegated. When Shashank Manohar took over as the ICC Chairman, he railed against this “bullying” (as he called it), and restarted the discussion, suggesting a central pot which would ensure that financially strapped countries would be looked after.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph recently, former England captain Michael Vaughan re-ignited the two-tier plan, saying, “Right now, there are too many mismatched games between teams that have wildly different resources, pathways and preparation. The best Test match this summer was Ireland against Zimbabwe because they were two well-matched teams and it was competitive.”

Two divisions

Rather than have a promotion-relegation system, cricket could borrow from American sport and have two divisions (or conferences if that word is more palatable). The six teams in one would be the alternately-ranked ones. Going by the rankings today, one group would comprise: Australia, England, New Zealand, West Indies, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe. The other would be India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland and Afghanistan. The teams can be shuffled after the first two-year cycle.

This pragmatic plan will achieve two ends: it will see more tours among countries beyond the top six, and it will rationalise the calendar. Domestic T20 franchises have to be accepted as a fact of life; this will ensure players don’t have to choose between club and country, a choice that has diminished West Indies cricket and South Africa’s too, although in the latter case, the administrators themselves made the choice (T20) for the players.

A third gain from this system is that Test series may be arranged outside the World Test Championship cycle. The Ashes, if necessary, can be a stand-alone series. An India-Pakistan series too, since it is difficult to predict when one might be possible in the regular cycle.

What Manohar foresaw a decade back — the central pot — will become a reality soon, with about $10 million in the special fund to help nine of the 12 Test-playing countries (The Big Three are excluded). The rationalisation of the television money distribution as desired by other countries (India get about forty percent of it) is unlikely to happen. But one of the main hurdles to the preservation of Test cricket might be crossed thanks to the special fund.

The time has come for Test cricket to be played in two groups. It wasn’t necessary for the first 100 years at the end of which only six teams played.

The World Test Championship which was introduced with some scepticism seems to be established now. Some tinkering may be needed, but the essence is in place. It was first suggested in the mid-90s and took two decades to realise. If that is the rough gestation period for an idea in the ICC, then perhaps it is ready for the two-tier Test system.