IND vs AUS 3rd Test at MCG saw a huge crowd of 373,691 over five days, which crossed the previous record of 350,534 set during the 1936–37 Ashes series, showing how fans of these two cricketing nations love to see both countries play against each other. Although the Test match didn’t end up in India’s favour as they lost the game by 184 runs, currently, it is Australia who leads the series 2–1, and India will look to make a comeback in the upcoming SCG Test.
In all this, former Indian coach Ravi Shastri has come up with an idea that is not new to the ICC but surely looks relevant now as far as saving Test cricket is concerned. Shastri emphasised a two-tier Test system to make Test cricket interesting again. He proposed a two-tier system with 6–8 top teams, where promotion and relegation could maintain competition and fan interest. Without a two-tier system, the former India coach also added that mismatched teams will never get more than five-day matches, which will put Test cricket on the back foot.
Ravi Shastri on two-tier Test system
“To break crowd records that have stood for nearly a century is a testimony to the fact that when the best teams play, the toughest and best format of the game is still alive and thriving.
“It was also a sound reminder to the ICC that the best should play the best for Test cricket to survive. There’s too much clutter otherwise.
“This match further emphasises why we need a two-tier system with the top 6–8 teams and the inclusion of promotion and relegation. You will not get these kinds of crowds if you don’t have two proper teams playing.” Shastri wrote in a column for The Australian
What is two tier Test system
Never came into reality, but as mentioned, it is not new to the ICC, as it was around 2016 when the ICC proposed this two-tier structure. However, the idea was scrapped after strong opposition, particularly from the BCCI, as they believed that it would harm the smaller cricketing nations.
Looking at what was in the proposed system, the two-tier Test structure included the top seven teams in one group and the rest in another. The system would have incorporated promotion and relegation to ensure competition. However, the idea was abandoned, and instead, the ICC introduced the World Test Championship to maintain competition in bilateral Test series. The WTC cycle ends with a final to reward the most superior Test team in each WTC cycle.
