Is two-tier Test system ’greedy’ or will it help cricket survive?

Former England fast bowler Steven Finn says introducing a two-tier system to the World Test Championship would be "greedy" and "sully the game."

A report by the Melbourne Age, external said International Cricket Council (ICC) chair Jay Shah is set to meet his Cricket Australia counterpart Mike Baird and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) boss Richard Thompson later this month, with sources saying proposals for two tiers of the World Test Championship will be discussed.

The plans could see India, Australia, England, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand in tier one, with West Indies,, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe making up the second tier., and Zimbabwe in

It will be introduced after the current Future Tours Programme ends in 2027.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan posted on X, saying it "has to happen" while former India head coach Ravi Shastri told SEN Radio "The best playing the best is needed for Test cricket to survive".

Potential changes come amid a changing cricket landscape with more franchise leagues and multi-year deals - often with large income - becoming available to players.

The England and Wales Cricket Board responded to that threat by offering multi-year central contracts for the first time in an attempt to keep players committed to international cricket.

The report said India, Australia and England are "conscious of the rapid growth" of franchise leagues and private investment and the potential two-tier plan is their latest attempt to combat those concerns.

"I don't like it - I don't think it's good for the game," Finn told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I think it's greedy - monetising something so pure like Test cricket feels like it is sullying the game. It just doesn't sit right with me."

Former West Indies captain Sir Clive Lloyd, who led them to success in the 1975 and 1979 World Cups, has criticised the plans, saying they "must be stopped now".

''It will be terrible for all those countries who work so hard to get to Test-match status and now they'll be playing among themselves in a lower section," Lloyd, 80, said.

"How are they going to make it to the top? When you play against better teams, you improve. That's how you know how good you are, or how bad you are. I am very disturbed.

"The better system would be to give the teams the same amount of money so they can get the tools to improve.''

West Indies were unbeaten in Tests between 1980 and February 1995, but they have struggled in recent years. Their last series win came in February 2023 against Zimbabwe.

Their last series win against a team that would be in the proposed tier one was against England in March 2022.

They did pull off a famous win against Australia in Brisbane in January 2024 to draw the series.

''We struggle a lot, we need special dispensation," said Lloyd. ''Some at the bottom are not playing Test matches and some are playing a world of Test matches.

"The system is not right. They have to sit down and work it out, that's what they're there for. That's their duty, that's their job to do that."

Former England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent is also against the proposals.

"If we just see more and more of the big guns going against each other, great, I'm sure it would be entertaining, but what does it mean for the game?" she told 5 Live.

"The reality is that we're playing in a global game, and what we do want is just to play a couple of countries to keep the buzz there consistently.

"Scheduling and timing of key series do become important and trying to avoid those big windows [like Olympics and major football tournaments], but I wouldn't sacrifice having a global game just to keep everyone revved up 24/7."