The ICC is thinking about introducing a Test championship in 2013. While I support the move by the ICC to make Test cricket more interesting, I believe a play-off between the top four of the existing rankings table is not nearly good enough.
For Test cricket to survive and for cricket in general to expand beyond its traditional strongholds, the ICC needs to overhaul the current system.
In all fairness, I admit I don’t have a blueprint of how international cricket should look in – lets say – 2020, but here are 5 steps to make Test cricket better and keep it alive for years to come:
- Let Test cricket be part of a two- or three-tier competition structure, complete with promotion and relegation
- Give more games Test status
- Have a Test championship
- Upgrade Test cricket
- Make use of the technology available
Zimbabwe and Bangladesh would be much better of playing Tests against Ireland, Afghanistan or even the Netherlands than lose each and every time against the likes of Australia and England. What exactly are they learning now?
Currently, there are 10 Full and 6 Top Associate Members in the ICC. Afghanistan – officially an Affiliate Member – should be part of a multi-tier competition too. The math is really easy: two divisions with 6 and one – the bottom-tier – with 5 teams. Next step; use the current rankings to fill in the teams for each division. Done.
Several divisions also mean a less cramped future tours program-calendar, which would be beneficial to cricket in general.
Yes, call it Test cricket, even at the second tier. Why not? I am all for traditions, but not when they are holding back countries (Ireland), players (Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce choose England because they wanted to play Test cricket, nothing more) and cricket in general to develop further.
Is there really that much difference between Bangladesh or Zimbabwe and Ireland in terms of quality? Not that I have noticed. So when these countries meet in a five-day game, why not grant it Test status?
I am not talking about promoting them to Full Members – that would probably be to much for the power-hungry national boards – just promote the status of their games in the longest format. Not unlike the recent ‘upgrade’ to ODI-status for the Top Associate Members.
Not such a bad idea by the ICC. (And not completely original either.)
There should also be promotion/relegation play-offs between the numbers one and numbers last of the different divisions.
I look at Tests being played under the floodlights or the refferal system as ‘upgrades’ of the game. They do not alter the heart of the game, but make it move forward.
Traditions born out of 19th century limitations (“the sun is going down so we have to stop playing”) are not what Test cricket is about. Just like the discarded and the often farcical differentiation between Players and Gentlemen, cricket should adept and embrace new developments.
Don’t do it like the FIFA. We have got the technology, so use it.
It is important to create a level playing field, even if it means the ICC and country boards have put in the extra money to get it available. At least in every game at the top-tier. Using the referral system every now and then is not benefiting the game.
There you have it, my 5 cents .. Have anything to add or think all of the above is completely useless? Let me know in the comments!
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I think I agree with each of your points, Arno. They should be implemented although I’d have 6 teams in the second tier (I’ll come to that later).
A few months ago David Gower, Michael Holding and Mike Atherton were talking about something similar in the Sky Sports studio. Holding talked about a two-tier system with six teams in each division. Each team would play every other team in its division home and away, while teams from the top tier would only play away series against those from the bottom tier. This way, you’re giving the lesser teams international exposure but in their own conditions.
David Gower, on the other hand, was appalled at the idea of awarding test status to a game between Ireland and Afghanistan. To which, Holding replied by asking why shouldn’t it be called a test match when you can call a game between Australia and Zimbabwe a test. Gower didn’t have a logical explanation for it but he wasn’t convinced. This is the problem associates face. A bunch of elitists think test cricket should be an exclusive club.
When it comes to floodlights and using technology to assist umpires, Gower again seemed averse to both. He thinks test cricket shouldn’t be played under lights and he’s not the only one who believes so. I don’t mind playing tests at night but there is a logistical problem with it in that the red ball gets lost in its own shadows. They’ve tried a pink ball and nobody knows how it’s worked. You’ve seen how certain boards are averse to using the UDRS so again, there is no consensus or political will to push for the use of technology. And we haven’t gone into the issue of pitches and over rates yet.
In a nutshell, there are too many factors at play for the ICC to take a firm stand toward globalising and modernising cricket.
Oh I forgot. Holding clearly mentioned during the discussion that the current members would never risk being relegated. Think about it. Australia and England need each other. Political pressures aside, India and Pakistan need each other. South Africa v England and South Africa v Australia are big series too. How do you get their boards to agree to a structure which might see them losing millions in revenue?
Thanks for commenting Mahek. I think I heard the same conversation, it kinda got me thinking about this whole stuff
You’re probably right about the Full Members fearing relegation and not wanting to risk this. On the other hand, the stakes are biggest for England, Australia, India and Pakistan, also the countries that don’t have much to fear.
But in all fairness, I think cricket’s conservative powers are too strong to get a full relegation/promotion competition going anytime soon.
There are other ways to get the Top Associates involved however. I found the suggestion from Russ, at paddlesweep.net, quite interesting. His marquee-style setup looked really nice.
Oh yeah, Russ has done some major work in this area. His website is really good if you’re into statistics and stuff.