New Delhi: Legendary West Indies player Clive Lloyd has raised concerns over the potential of a two-tier Test system to accommodate more series between the ‘Big 3’ India, Australia and England. He fears that teams with less resources might fall out to make it to the top without playing against top-ranked teams.
According to a report by The Age, newly-elected ICC chairman Jay Shah will be meeting with the chairpersons of Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) later in the month to have a lengthy discussion on the topic.
This isn’t something that has been considered in the recent times. The talks had first emerged in 2016, but it was the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) who opposed the move then. One of the arguments to stop the two-tier system was that the smaller countries won’t have the advantage of playing against the top teams.
It is the same sentiments reiterated by Lloyd, who played 110 Tests and 87 One-Day Internationals and was the captain of the West Indies team which dominated the world cricket between 1970 and 1980.
“I think it will be terrible for all those countries who worked so hard to get the Test status. Now they’ll be playing among themselves in the lower section. How are they going to make it to the top? When you play against better teams,” the 80-year-old Lloyd said during an online interaction.
Lloyd expressed that the West Indies won’t be able to play as a island again if the proposal happens to be materialised.
“Our islands have got to play together. We’ve been doing that for years,” Lloyd said.
“We were the cash cows for a lot of countries over the years … people must recognise that,” he said. “But we are at that situation now where we need the help, and we can’t get it,” he added.
Clive Lloyd has voiced strong opposition to a proposed two-tier Test system, fearing it will disadvantage smaller cricketing nations. The plan, involving primarily India, Australia, and England, risks limiting opportunities for less-resourced teams to compete against top-ranked opponents, hindering their development and potentially leading to their exclusion from the elite level. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
