CWI president Dr Kishore Shallow said talk of the controversial two-tier model could be a “rumour”. He was speaking on the Mason and Guest programme on the Voice of Barbados, Tuesday night.
The main topic of that programme was the discussion with West Indies legends Sir Clive Lloyd and Michael Holding giving mixed reactions to the issue that has been discussed in the media regionally and globally.
But Shallow said the discussion has not come either at the International Cricket Council or the Cricket West Indies level since he has been a director at both organisations.
Shallow has been a CWI director since 2017 and at the ICC for the last two years. “This could easily be a rumour. From my position it has not been discussed…all I have seen is what you have seen in the media,” Shallow told host Andrew Mason.
He continued: “It’s interesting, it’s a sensitive issue-- based on my research that I have done-- that matter has been on the table since 2004 or thereabouts, when several individuals were looking at ways to keep Test cricket interesting,” adding, “That in itself shows how long people have been anticipating, considering Test cricket to be on the decline.”
SLAMABAD, Pakistan, (CMC) –Andre Coley says while the two-match Test series in Pakistan will be his last as head coach of the West Indies’ Test team, that is not his main focus.
Last month, Cricket West Indies announced that West Indies white ball head coach Daren Sammy would take over from Coley following the completion of the Pakistan series.
It will bring an end to a challenging tenure for Coley, who failed to win a single Test series during his 20 months in charge having been appointed in May, 2023.
When asked how he felt about it being his last series in charge, Coley said he would reflect on his time at the helm following the completion of the Pakistan series.
“I’m very disturbed about this…It must be stopped now.”
Legendary former West Indies cricket captain Clive Lloyd did not mince his words as he responded to a media report out of Australia yesterday that talks are planned to split Test-playing teams into two divisions.
A report in the Sydney Morning Herald has suggested that Australia, England, India and the International Cricket Council’s new chairman Jay Shah are in talks to split Test cricket into two divisions so the big three nations can play each other more often in series.”
The report noted that the concept of two tiers in Test cricket was previously floated at ICC level in 2016, with a model where seven nations would compete in the top division and five in the second rank.
It added that any plan for a move to two divisions in Test cricket would kick in after the end of the current Future Tours Programme in 2027.
However, Lloyd does not see West Indies, currently ranked eighth out of 12 Test teams, recovering if they were confined to a tier two.
“We cannot sustain the system with the money that we are acquiring at the moment,” Sir Clive told members of the regional and international media on a Zoom call yesterday. “We are in a very vulnerable situation. And now you are making us even poorer by what you are doing.”
A two-tier structure could be introduced in 2027 which would mean England, Australia and India playing each other more often in lucrative series.
A report in the Melbourne Age says that Jay Shah, the new chair of the International Cricket Council and former head of the Indian board, will meet with Richard Thompson and Mike Baird, the chairmen of the England & Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia, later this month to discuss the proposal. If ratified it would mean the ‘Big Three’ playing each other twice every three years rather than every four years under the current model.
Split into two divisions
Test cricket could be split into two divisions of seven and five with England, India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the top division and Bangladesh, West Indies, Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe making up tier two.
Michael Vaughan, former England captain and Telegraph Sport columnist, voiced his support on Monday morning, saying: “It has to happen.” He has advocated two divisions before.
The current Future Tours Programme runs out in 2027. Talks will begin this year about its replacement with boards keen to maximise television broadcast revenue.
For the Big Three, playing each other brings in the most money. England play India this summer and counties will benefit from bumper gates while the majority of the board’s overseas television rights income is based on the India home series.
Tis the season for giving, and Guyanese cricketer Sherfane Rutherford has treated West Indies fans around the world to a sparkling treat with bat in hand in limited-overs cricket for 2024.
Following a breathtaking century in the opening ODI against Bangladesh where he blasted 113 runs from 80 balls, the 26-year-old set a record of amassing the most runs in eight consecutive ODI innings by any West Indian batter.
The left-hander made his ODI debut in 2023, scoring a half -century in his second match against England in Antigua. However, it was his transformation in Sri Lanka earlier this year that truly marked his resurgence.
Known for his hard-hitting ability, Rutherford registered back-to-back half centuries during the three-match series including a match winning unbeaten 50 in the final game, which guided the West Indies to their first victory in Sri Lanka since 2005.
