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Test cricket has long needed a decent structure. The current one is aimless. Teams just wander around playing bilateral series, most of which have no purpose other than getting a new trophy from a sponsor.
Yes, there are series like the Ashes which remain closely fought, but many others like the Frank Worrell trophy have lost their prestige thanks to the one-sided nature of the series.
The fans are voting with their feet, and Test cricket in many countries is in decline. So how do we rebuild Test cricket’s standing as the ultimate and most important form of the game? How do we make every match matter?
I think the answer may come from another old English sport; tennis and the Davis Cup.
The Davis cup is tennis’ primary team competition. The basic structure is that of relegation and promotion. In the top tier, 16 countries compete. The winning eight head into the quarter-finals and so on, and the losing eight play-off against the winning eight from the second tier.
The losing eight from the second tier play off against the winning eight of the third tier and so on (that’s a big simplification but that is the basic gist of it). Each round takes place on a single weekend, with one tie consisting of three matches or rubbers.
This format could be applied to world cricket in a similar way. The top group is a ‘Test status’ group, consisting of the top 12 nations (South Africa, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, India, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan).
At the start of the tournament, the Test teams play amongst each other, with the first ranked team (South Africa) playing the seventh ranked team (Sri Lanka), the second ranked team (Australia) playing the eighth ranked team (West Indies), and so on. The top six nations then progress to the knockout stage.
The two highest ranked teams from the final six go straight through to the semi-finals, with the other teams playing off in elimination finals. After that there are two semi-finals, a bronze final and a grand final.
The next tier is the associate tier, containing another 12 teams. They play off for the right to be promoted to Test status and the winning six play the losing six from the top tier. The winners are then promoted to Test status and the losers demoted from Test status, meaning any further games played by that team are classified as first class games. The losers from this tier play against the winners from the next tier and so on.
The format for a play-off or tie is a three-game Test match (or first class in the case of the associates) series. This means the possibility of a drawn tie is eliminated and means that teams cannot win by sheer chance.
Unlike the Davis Cup, which can only be squeezed in four times a year, the matches will supplant most of the existing Test match schedules and the tournament can take place over one or two years. Traditional series such as the Ashes will stick around, but they will be ‘friendly’ matches and won’t count as part of the tournament.
This system means that anyone, no matter which tier they are in, can challenge for the right to play Test cricket, (either by direct promotion from the associate tier or by working up the tiers over the next couple of tournaments), and in the process demonstrate that they have the talent to play the ultimate form.
Many officials say that letting associates play Test cricket would be walking on Don Bradman’s grave, but if a team is able to consistently perform and win a three-Test series against a Test nation, they are worthy of Test status.
The other advantage of this system is that it will encourage improvement in the bottom six of the world group to keep their Test status. Teams like the West Indies and Zimbabwe will now feel the pressure to improve their form or risk being demoted. Teams who perform well will be rewarded, with the winners at the end of the tournament being presented with the Test mace and given the number one rank (and a generous cash prize).
If Test cricket was made into a competition like the Davis Cup, not only would the long form of the game be relevant, the overall quality of the game would increase.
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