SHUBMAN GILL from India and Ben Stokes from England (Photo Gareth Coppley/Getty Images) The cricket council in England and Wales (ECB) is not in favor of the World Championship in two divisions (WTC), especially if it risk that England will be placed in another division from Australia or India. This could mean missing two of their biggest and most profitable rivalry. Last month, ICC created a working group led by the former New Zealand body Roger Twos to explore ways to improve the WTC from the 2027 cycle. The two -stage structure was one of the main ideas discussed at the annual ICC meeting in July. Twos, who is sitting on the ICC Council on behalf of New Zealand, is expected to make a formal recommendation soon. The idea of a graded test system has been over 15 years. While the ICC showed interest in 2009, its members remained divided into the model.
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During the opening day of the fifth test, ECB chairman Richard Thompson shared his thoughts on the BBC’s Match Special. He said that the value of the bilateral cricket decreases due to the wrapped calendar dominated by the T20 league, which in most countries injured the test cricket. While he acknowledges that ICC is considering a two -stage model, he admitted that this may not be the ideal solution. Thompson said, “There are many options on the table. The levels are one of them. But if England has in shape, it should mean we dropped two and do not play India or Australia? He felt that the current WTC format could be improved instead. He pointed to the victory in South Africa in the 2023-25 cycle as a great example of how the teams of the losers can get off with true support. “WTC helped create narration and added meaning. Visiting victory in South Africa was powerful. I know that people like Graeme Smith, and see him in tears in the field, showed how much it means. Despite my” B “team against New Zealand, their victory was still good for the game. Thompson added that rather than changing the format, planning of matches required a re -evaluation. He also indicated complications that would be created in 2028 when cricket is part of the Olympics. “We will face challenges when our best players must be in Los Angeles in mid -July. This will be necessary to do in the calendar.”
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The composition of the WTC working group is still unclear, but reports suggest that an eight -member committee, including representatives of nations without a test, could be created. The new CEO of ICC Sanjog Gupta is expected to be involved. Since the bilateral series has already been discussed in the 2027-29 cycle and the offer of media rights that appear, the ICC is under pressure to make the WTC more efficient. Yet resistance remains high. Full members have been divided into this idea for a long time. Some are afraid of financial losses from the descent, others fear national pride and several of them completely reject this concept. Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg, another key voice in the debate, believes that larger nations must support smaller ones to keep the test cricket alive. In an interview with the dream of Radio, he said the strong western India, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa are in the interest of everyone. “These countries cannot do it by themselves. We all have to help. I have talked to many CEOs of the Board of Directors and there is a common understanding that some changes are needed to test cricket Greenberg said he was an open two -stage idea only if he really helped smaller countries grew stronger. “If it gives them more resources and opportunities, I support it. But if it hurts in the end, then I won’t.” He mentioned that during the recent meeting of the head of the ICC head in Singapore several others expressed the same willingness to find a positive way forward.
