Two-Tier Test Cricket?

Tue, Oct 7, '25

Being a glutton for West Indies punishment, I sacrificed much-needed sleep after long days of productivity to watch the West Indies orchestrate yet another shambolic performance. And while it was taking place over two and a half days in India, I began to ponder the definition of madness: ‘doing the same thing over and over yet still wanting change.’ As such, I decided to look for outliers. Two-Tier Test Cricket came to mind. The following is grounded in rationality without the temptations of nostalgia for the halcyon days of West Indies cricket. Ultranationalists will tear into the idea, but sometimes to reach the horizon, it becomes necessary to lose sight of the shore, even if temporarily.

West Indies cricket is again under the microscope after suffering another humiliating test loss to India by an innings and 140 runs inside three days. This defeat comes on the heels of a 3-0 whitewash by Australia earlier this year in the Caribbean, which was highlighted by the West Indies being bowled out for just 27 runs—their lowest-ever Test total. Ahead of the current two-test series against India, the West Indies face another daunting two-test series against New Zealand, ‘Down Under’. If recent form is any indication, the West Indies risk adding further defeats to an already grim record.

After the defeat in India, Captain Roston Chase acknowledged the scale of the challenge, admitting the problems are systemic – infrastructure, pitches, training facilities, finances and even slow outfielders! These problems are not temporary but structural and cannot be resolved by nostalgic appeals to past glories. And if the problems are bad for the men’s team, the challenges of the women’s team are even more colossal, as the strategic development of regional women’s cricket is already well behind other established countries such as Australia, England and India. But the issues related to the women’s game must not get lost in the men’s issues. They will therefore be rightfully treated separately.