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Pakistani ex-cricketers have joined their counterparts in South Africa and Sri Lanka in rejecting the idea of two-tier Test cricket.
India, Australia and England are reportedly discussing a two-tier Test system.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif gave a neutral view on the two-tier system in Test cricket, which is currently the most talked about issue. He believes that the push to divide it into two tiers is driven by crowd sizes in different countries.
Reports suggested that Australia, England and India representatives will meet ICC Chairman Jay Shah later this month to discuss a potential two-tier Test system starting in 2027. It came after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia which drew record crowds in the stadium.
“I see this scheme as a neutral person. We have seen good crowds in England, Australia and India during Test matches while we see fans in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and even in New Zealand, do not come to the grounds when longer format matches are played, so this was imminent.
“Fans come to grounds in England because they are traditional fans. South Africa also gets crowds because their fans also want to watch the longer format. When South Africa is at their peak in Tests they are a watchable team with good pacers,” said Laitf to Telecom Asia Sport.
“Cricket can go up and down. India and Australia are at the top of Test rankings but they can go down as well. All other countries where crowds do not want to go for Tests like ours are not given value and they do not get revenues,” he added.
The Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground set a new record for attendance figures in Tests in Australia, beating the previous record set in 1936/37 when Australia faced England in a six-day game and a record-breaking 47,566 spectators packed the stands of Sydney Cricket Ground.
The Melbourne Test set a new benchmark for the highest-ever opening day attendance in a Test match between India and Australia with 87,242 spectators at the iconic venue.
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal expressed his views on the issue and said that earning more money is the prime reason behind the proposed model.
“The lure to earn more money is the prime reason for this so-called two-tier or Big Three scheme and they do not consider the promotion of the game. We have countries like Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan who do not play Test cricket regularly, and when they do, they lack the standards. If they do not play at all against big countries, then how can they improve,” he said.
“I hope other countries do not accept this and make compromises on this. This was initiated before as well but was shelved due to protests from other countries. It’s the duty of the ICC to keep Test cricket alive. The World Test Championship has not only kept the format alive but has given good cricket to all countries,” he added.
Interestingly, the concept of a two-tier system in Test cricket was proposed in an ICC Board meeting in 2016, where seven nations would compete in the first division, while the remaining five countries would compete in the second division.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS)
