Opposition to the idea of dividing Test cricket into two levels (or tiers) is increasing. After Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, now England has also disagreed with this idea. The chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Richard Thompson, said that many options are still being discussed to improve the World Test Championship (WTC). He clearly said that England would not want to be in Division Two, where they might not get to play against strong teams like Australia and India. According to him, instead of splitting Test cricket into two levels, the schedule of matches should be improved, and there should be a better balance between red-ball (Test) and white-ball (ODI and T20) cricket.
On the other hand, the CEO of Cricket Australia, Todd Greenberg, gave conditional support to the two-tier system. He said that Test cricket needs to become stronger, and helping teams like West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, and Pakistan grow is in everyone’s best interest. If the two-tier system helps weaker teams get better, then he supports it. But if it doesn’t work, he will not continue to support it.
Right now, many full-member countries of the ICC are not sure about this new system. Some are worried that if they go to Division Two, they might lose their share of ICC’s income. To solve these issues and improve the next cycle of the WTC, the ICC has created a special group led by New Zealand’s Rogers Toos. This group will look at different ideas to make the tournament better and fair for everyone.
