I don’t see a two-tier system happening: Clive Lloyd

New Delhi, Jan 7 Legendary West Indies captain Sir Clive Lloyd said he is greatly disturbed by the proposed two-tier Test cricket system, deeming it as an idea which is not very good at all.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird, England and Wales Cricket Board chief Richard Thompson, and BCCI representatives will meet ICC Chairman Jay Shah later this month to discuss about a potential two-tier Test system starting in 2027.

"Well, I don’t see a two-tier system (happening). I am very disturbed about this and I’m hoping that something is done, and that it must be stopped now. We’re not talking about 30 or 40 cricket teams - it’s ten teams. We should be able to have a system where everybody should be playing cricket often.”

“Test cricket is still one of the most popular games to play as far as cricket is concerned. But we seem to be putting it to one side, and I don’t think that’s very good at all. We have to have a better system. We have to sit down and work out and not just say T20 is the ‘the’ thing.”

“Not everybody wants to watch T20 cricket - we want to watch Test cricket because T20 cricket is an exhibition, while Test cricket is an examination. I can only tell if you are a Test cricketer or a top-class cricketer; you can become that by playing Test cricket,” said Lloyd while replying to a question from IANS in a select virtual interaction.

There’s also the danger of the gulf widening between top and bottom Test teams, as well as of second-tier teams suffering financially if they don’t get to play matches against the top division teams, especially against the big three of India, Australia and England.

“The effect it would have is we would not be able to produce the type of cricket that we have over the years because we will be playing in a second tier. You can only improve by playing against better opposition. You cannot be playing among yourselves in a lower league and get up there.

“It will be terrible for all those countries that worked so hard to get to Test match status, and now they’ll be playing among themselves in the lower section, with relegation and promotion around it. How are they going to make it to the top? A better system would be to give teams the same amount of money so they can get the tools to improve,” added Lloyd, who captained the West Indies to ODI World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979.

The proposal for having a two-tier Test system was floated in 2016, but due to opposition by cricket boards, including the BCCI, it never became a reality. Presently, if approved, the two-tier system would see England, India, and Australia playing each other twice in three years rather than four, thus maximising their TV rights revenue.

From 1982 to 1984, Lloyd led the West Indies in an unprecedented 27 Tests without defeat, and 11 successive wins. But if the two-tier Test system comes, then the West Indies playing against the top nations in Tests would soon become a thing of the past.

Lloyd, a former ICC Match Referee and chairman of its Cricket Committee, highlighted it is the global cricket body’s responsibility of supporting the financial sustainability of Test matches in the Caribbean, citing the difficulties of generating revenue in the region.

“I am very disappointed. I mean, the point is that all these other countries have worked very hard to get there. We have been in ICC for nearly 100 years. We are one of, if not the most successful Test team over the years. Going back into 1950s when we were in the ascendancy at a certain stage - we worked hard for what we achieved over that period, with only five billion people – with Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and South Africa having more people than us.

“We have a great history, and now you’re going to tell us, because of a monetary situation, this is how it’s going to be. You see the T20 tournaments have destroyed our cricket, because if you come from our cricket nation, such a small population, when you’re losing all of your players, because they’re being offered more money.

“But look at our achievements, and when it came to a situation of holding tournaments, we’re 14 islands. We have to fly everywhere, and our cricket is held during a very expensive period for hotels, so we struggle a lot. We need a special dispensation because we are islands. You can imagine them talking about dismantling the West Indies teams and playing as their own (islands).

“We cannot sustain a system with the money we have at the moment. We were the cash cows for a lot of countries over the years. We are not asking for something we should not acquire. In the 1970s we helped England by playing county cricket, and their cricket got that lift. We are in the situation where we need help and we can’t get it. That is why I say we need a little special dispensation. Something must be done to help our cricket and the other nations who are just there,” he concluded.

Source: IANS