Two weeks ago I made a case for a second (and third) division for Test cricket. Since then, Pakistan have been underlining that argument by utterly underperforming against England.

By doing so, Pakistan are harming Test cricket. Something Andrew Miller of Cricinfo.com agrees on:

But for the good of Test cricket, and even for England’s own long-term benefit, a bit more resistance from Pakistan would not go amiss. While stalemates of the SSC variety are the greatest menace to the game, a fundamental lack of competitivity runs a close second.

via Cricinfo.com

Having more divisions will give teams more to play for, making Test cricket more competitive, which will benefit Test cricket.

If we had a mulit-tier competition structure, Pakistan, in their current form, would be looking at a degradation play-off against second-divisionists Ireland or Afghanistan.

Who would you fancy winning such a play-off?