Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg has questioned the value of every nation fielding a Test side, insisting less is more when it comes to red-ball cricket.
Australia is gearing up for another grand Test series, the Ashes in 100 days, after hosting a record-breaking Border-Gavaskar Trophy last summer.
The contrast between the gripping five-Test England-India series and New Zealand and Australia’s respective demolitions of the West Indies and Zimbabwe has prompted further questions around the structure of Test cricket.
The ICC recently formed a working group to discuss, among other items, the Test format.
Greenberg says he is open minded about the idea of multi-tiered Test cricket and has cast doubt whether some cricket board’s risk bankruptcy pushing the red-ball game.
“I don’t think there is a right number (of Test-playing nations) … but I think in the future scarcity in Test cricket is our friend, not our foe,” Greenberg said.
Australia vs South Africa T20I & ODI Series | Watch every ball LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1 >
“What I mean by that is, I don’t think everyone in world cricket needs to aspire to play Test cricket and that might be OK.
“A lot of traditionalists might not like that (and) I’m not suggesting I know the number that will play, but literally we’re trying to send countries bankrupt if we force them to play Test cricket.
“We need to make sure we invest in the right spaces, play Test cricket where it means something and has jeopardy.
“That’s why the Ashes will be as enormous and as profitable as it is because it means something … it means something to every player.
“We’ve got to make sure when we play Test cricket that’s at the top of our mind.”
England Cricket chief executive Richard Gould recently told the Final Word Podcast that he feared for the “financial viability” of the game in England if it ever fell into the hypothetical second division.
Greenberg wasn’t as concise about his view, saying it’s “incumbent” on Australia to explore the prospect of maintaining Test cricket.
“I’ve got an open mind to that question because I don’t know the details to what a two-tiered structure would look like,” he said.
“Test cricket needs an injection of capital and an injection of resources because it can’t just be about Australia, India and England – it needs to be bigger than that.
“Red-ball cricket in this country, and in England and in India, is unbelievably successful but it’s not like that in all parts of the world.
“It’s incumbent on us to make sure we play our part to help, so the concept of tiers I think needs to be explored.
“I’m not prepared to say we’re against something until we see all the details.”
Discussion about this post