CHANGES TO TAKE PLACE IN TEST CRICKET

 By Oscar Ramjeet

Discussions are now underway by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to have a three tier system for test cricket in order to correct the imbalance between the very strong teams and the weak ones.

West Indies which was the leading cricketing nation in the world in the 1970s and early 1980s will not have to struggle to maintain its position to compete with top teams like South Africa, Australia, England, Pakistan, India, and New Zealand. The Caribbean players have a lot of work since they are sliding every match. It is unbelievable that Brian Lara's team allow a No. 9 batsman from Bangladesh to score a century on Saturday, and the weak Asian side to amass more than 400 runs in St. Lucia.

Dave Richardson, the ICC's general manager is now presiding over discussions on a proposal to restrict Test cricket, while the next two rungs would consist of 12 teams split in two divisions of six each.

Teams in the elite group would be required to play each other in home and away series -- comprising of two or three Tests each in order to ensure that a full round of Test series takes not more than three years instead of the current five, with every team playing 14 test matches.

The move to re-organize the format for test cricket came following constant requests from leading cricketers in the world.

It is proposed that the second-division matches would be four day games, played on a home and away basis. The winning division would then take on the team which finished last in the elite group in a one-off Test Victory in that match would promote the the division winner into the elite group. It seems therefore, that from the currrent standings in the ICC Test Championship table, West Indies will be battling Bangladesh to avoid relegation.

The proposal is also for teams not good enough to make it to the top 14, but has the potential to move up the ladder, there is also a proposal for those teams as well. As with the second division, the team topping the third tier will also get an opportunity to be promoted.

Malcolm Speed, ICC Chief Executive Officer said that the review of the structure of international cricket will take several months.

I sincerely hope that the West Indies team will try to improve their performance against Bangladesh and the upcoming tour to England in order to keep the spirit of the tens of thousands of their supporters alive.