Melbourne [Australia], August 14 : The Cricket Australia (CA) chief Todd Greenberg warned that the current model of Test cricket could leave some boards facing bankruptcy and also added that he does not think everyone in world cricket needs to aspire to play the longest format of the game, reported Wisden.
With the West Indies and Zimbabwe facing massive and embarrassing losses to Australia and New Zealand respectively and the amount of fight India and England alike showed during a 2-2 drawn Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the debate about having a two-tier ICC World Test Championship (WTC) system has just picked up again.
The CA administrator has urged ICC to have a more slimmed down model towards Tests to preserve its quality and protect its existence. The ICC had recently introduced a working group to discuss the preservation of the format's future and whether a two-tier Test system is possible.
"Scarcity in Test cricket is our friend, not out foe," said Greenberg as quoted by Wisden.
"I do not think everyone in world cricket needs to aspire to play Test cricket, and that might be okay. We are literally trying to send countries bankrupt if we force them to try and play Test cricket," he added.
As per Greenberg vision, a greater investment would go to series involving the 'big three nations', India, England and Australia, with the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy recently garnering plenty of acclaim for the quality of cricket played and producing significant viewership.
"We need to make sure we invest in the right spaces to play Test cricket where it means something has jeopardy. That is why the Ashes will be as enormous and profitable as it is, because it means something," he added.
The series between Australia and WI in June-July ended with Aussies whitewashing Windies at their own home and skittling them out for 27 in the third Test, the second-lowest Test score ever.
In the NZ-Zim Test series, NZ secured a massive win in the first Test, by an innings and 359 runs, after scoring 601/3 in their first innings with 150-plus scores from Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Henry Nicholls.
A two-tier system has been floated around as a solution to address the massive gulf in performances of the 'big three' teams and others. The ICC working group was established to look into the matter in the Annual General Meeting last month which took place under leadership of ICC Chairman Jay Shah, chief executive Sanjog Gupta. Greenberg, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Richard Gould also are a part of the group, which Gupta chairs.
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