NZ Cricket respond to reported two-tier Test cricket proposals

By Alex Powell

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) says it has not discussed the reported split of test cricket into two tiers.

On Monday, Australian outlet the Age reported that officials from the three most powerful national boards in the game, India, Australia and England, were to meet to discuss the possibility of test cricket fragmenting, to allow for more series between the sport’s big players.

The move would come on the back of the success of the recently completed Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India, where the two sides played out an evenly fought five-test series, which Australia won 3-1.

The series was a success competitively and commercially. The fourth test in Melbourne was the most-attended fixture in Australian cricket history — hosting more than 370,000 over the four days.

The potential new structure would likely see a top tier of India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The second would be made up of the West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. The likes of the Netherlands and Scotland, who are not current test-playing nations could also theoretically move up to complete two separate pools of seven.

At present, cricket’s schedule is determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC), through its future tours programme, which has the objective of ensuring sides play each other home and away at least once over a 10-year period.

Should a new structure of two tiers come in, that system would be in serious doubt, and possibly allow the likes of India, Australia and England to decide who and when they play.

NZC, though, says it has not been involved in any discussions over its place in what would be the sport’s new world.

“NZC hasn’t discussed the reported proposal, neither internally, or at world body level,” a spokesperson told the Herald.

“While we note the various points for and against, it would be inappropriate for us to speculate until we’ve been fully apprised of the details.

“NZC doesn’t expect this issue to be raised at ICC level until the second quarter of 2025.

A similar proposal was put forward in 2016, however that was deflected by India, who said it was acting in the best interest of the smaller nations. Nearly a decade on, though, it appears money ultimately talks.

Should that eventuate, and allow for more matches between the top three sides, the rest of cricket’s less-powerful nations would likely suffer.

Any new structure would ultimately threaten the current World Test Championship, where teams contest a two-year cycle, leading to a final between the top two-ranked sides.

The first iteration of the World Test Championship was won by the Black Caps in 2021, before Australia won the second in 2023.

That system, though, is already restricted to cricket’s top nine test-playing sides, and does not include Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

Teams such as the West Indies, who were once the sport’s powerhouse in the 1980s, have suffered from a lack of test cricket, exacerbated by a lack of matches causing a cycle where players cannot improve, and are forced to look elsewhere for opportunities.

Meanwhile, despite being the first team to qualify for the 2025 World Test Championship, South Africa were forced to send a second-string side to New Zealand at the start of last year, after their tour clashed with their domestic Twenty20 competition.

The World Test Championship is currently locked in through to the end of its 2027 cycle.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission