- Plans are being drawn up to split the World Test Championship into two tiers.
- The changes will be discussed by Australia, India, England and the ICC.
Sir Clive Lloyd fears radical plans to make Test cricket a two-tier system will plunge one of the most iconic teams in world sport into oblivion.
Under proposals to split the international game's 12 full member nations in two, which will be discussed by ICC president Jay Shah and representatives from Australia, India and England later this month, the West Indies would celebrate their centenary as a Test team in 2028 as second-class citizens.
As first reported by Australian newspaper The Age, consideration is being given to renewing the nine-team World Test Championship into one of two divisions (a 7-5 rework has been mooted) from the summer of 2027.
Legendary former West Indies captain Lloyd believes such a move would mean dissolving an international sporting anomaly: the Windies team is selected from 15 Caribbean countries, and any drop in revenue may encourage the larger islands to act. on your own.
“You can imagine them talking about dismantling the West Indies teams and playing as if they were their own (islands),” he said.
Lloyd, 80, captained the West Indies when they were unbeaten in 27 Test matches in the 1980s, culminating in a then-record 11-match winning streak in 1984: six wins against Australia and five against England.
Sir Clive Lloyd criticized plans to revamp the World Test Championship into a two-tier system
Lloyd claimed the controversial plans could plunge the West Indies cricket team into oblivion.
The plans will be discussed by India, Australia, England and the ICC later this month.
But now they languish in eighth place in the test rankings and are at the bottom of the WTC.
“Over the years, we were a source of income for a lot of people,” Lloyd said. 'We worked hard to achieve what we achieved and we only had 5 million people. India has a billion and a quarter. Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, they all have more people, but look what we achieved.
“We have a great history and now they are going to tell us that, because of the monetary situation, this is how it will be.”
This is not the first time a two-tier testing system has been proposed, but the “big three” (England, Australia and India) are now interested in maximizing television revenue.
Last month's Boxing Day test between Australia and India attracted a record total attendance of more than 373,000.
Playing each other twice every three years instead of twice every four starting in 2027, when the next rights cycle begins, would result in increases in ticket, television and sponsorship revenue. But it would leave the Windies and the other poor guys playing losing games.
“We wouldn't be able to produce the type of cricket we have produced over the years,” Lloyd said. 'You can only improve against better opposition. “The best system would be to give all teams the same amount of money so they can improve.”
Under cricket's current model, those who bring in the most money take the biggest annual cut: India's £184m is 40 per cent, followed by England at £33m.
“When we were on the rise, we didn't get any more money,” Lloyd added. “Something must be done to help our cricket and other nations.”