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Introducing a two-tier system to the World Test Championship would be “greedy” and would “sully the game”, says former England fast bowler Steven Finn.
A report by the Melbourne Age said International Cricket Council (ICC) chair Jay Shah is set to meet his Cricket Australia counterpart Mike Baird and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) boss Richard Thompson later this month, with sources saying proposals for two tiers of the World Test Championship will be discussed.
The plans could see India, Australia, England, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand in tier one, with West Indies, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe making up the second tier.
It would be introduced after the current Future Tours Programme ends in 2027.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan posted on X saying it “has to happen” while former India head coach Ravi Shastri told SEN Radio “the best playing the best is needed for Test cricket to survive”.
Potential changes come amid a changing cricket landscape with more franchise leagues and multi-year deals – often with large income – becoming available to players.
The England and Wales Cricket Board responded to that threat by offering multi-year central contracts for the first time in an attempt to keep players committed to international cricket.
The report said India, Australia and England are “conscious of the rapid growth” of franchise leagues and private investment and the potential two-tier plan is their latest attempt to combat those concerns.
“I don’t like it – I don’t think it’s good for the game,” Finn told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I think it’s greedy – monetising something that is so pure like Test cricket feels like it is sullying the game. It just doesn’t sit right with me.”
‘We shouldn’t sacrifice global game’ – those against two tiers
Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, who led them to success in the 1975 and 1979 World Cups, has criticised the plans, saying they “must be stopped now”.
”It will be terrible for all those countries who work so hard to get to Test-match status and now they’ll be playing among themselves in a lower section,” Lloyd, 80, said.
“How are they going to make it to the top? When you play against better teams, you improve. That’s how you know how good you are, or how bad you are. I am very disturbed.
“The better system would be to give the teams the same amount of money so they can get the tools to improve.”
West Indies were unbeaten in Tests between 1980 and February 1995, but they have struggled in recent years, with their last series win coming in February 2023 against Zimbabwe.
Their last series win against a team that would be in the proposed tier one was against England in March 2022.
They did pull off a famous win against Australia in Brisbane in January 2024 to draw the series.
”We struggle a lot, we need special dispensation,” said Lloyd. ”Some at the bottom are not playing Test matches and some are playing a world of Test matches.
“The system is not right. They have to sit down and work it out, that’s what they’re there for. That’s their duty, that’s their job to do that.”
Former England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent is also against the proposals.
“If we just see more and more of the big guns going against each other, great, I’m sure it would be entertaining, but what does it mean for the game?” she told 5 Live.
“The reality is that we’re playing in a global game, and what we do want – just to play a couple of countries to keep the buzz there consistently?
“Scheduling and timing of key series does become really important and trying to avoid those big windows [like Olympics and major football tournaments], but I wouldn’t sacrifice having a global game just to keep everyone revved up 24/7.”
‘It would give us something to get our teeth into’ – those in favour of two tiers
Shastri, who played for India between 1981 and 1992 and then coached the team from 2017 to 2021, believes the changes are necessary to keep the Test format as the pinnacle.
“When the best teams play, the toughest and best format of the game is still alive and thriving,” he said.
“It [the Australia v India series] was a stark reminder that the best should play the best for Test cricket to survive. There is too much of a clutter otherwise.”
England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain Vaughan agrees and said in a column for the Telegraph: “I believe it [Test cricket] is a four-day product with a set number of overs each day enforced, three matches minimum per series and two divisions of six, including promotion and relegation.
“I was delighted to read the ICC are considering a two-tier structure from 2027 which could see the Ashes staged twice every three years.
“I have been saying for a long time this is the way to keep Test cricket relevant by ensuring the best play the best as often as possible and we get fewer mis-matches.”
Ireland were the last team, alongside Afghanistan, to be given Test status in 2017.
They have played nine Tests since, winning twice against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
Their five games against teams in the proposed first tier have seen defeats by five wickets against Pakistan, 143 runs and 10 wickets against England and two defeats by an innings against Sri Lanka.
Speaking to the BBC World Service’s Stumped podcast last March, their selector Andrew White suggested they would support a two-tier idea.
“I think it is crying out for that to be brutally honest,” he said.
“The gulf between Afghanistan and ourselves to England, India and Australia is massive at Test level.
“We want to give the players a chance to play and improve and for those games to have some context.
“If you had a two-tier Test Championship it would give the guys something to get their teeth into.”
