Competent ICC is a pipe dream

There should have been a twotier Test system in place years agoIn reality therersquos only a limited number of teams capable of competing longterm in the fiveday game The West Indies earned the right to financial assistance with their capacity to draw crowds and itrsquos criminal theyrsquove been allowed to languishA system that includes promotion and relegation is feasible but there needs to be certain criteria attached before a team attains Test status The criteria should include Do they have a viable firstclass competition Do they have legitimate grounds for holding fiveday games Do the grounds have adequate facilities Are they financially stableIf a team meets those criteriamdash and maintains a high standard of play over a number of yearsmdashthen promotion to Test status would be legitimateHowever most of the recent Testappointed nations donrsquot come close to meeting any reasonable criteria For instance could Afghanistan hold a Test series in their strife torn country Does Ireland have a realistic number of Test standard groundsEven apart from the Talibanrsquos reprehensible treatment of women the answer to those questions is absolutely not Then why do they have Test statusBecause in return for Test status they provide valuable ICC votes on important issues The ICC is widely regarded as an event management company They should add ldquoand not a very good onerdquoOn the subject of a twotier Test system former West Indies pace bowling champion Michael Holding noted ldquoFor all its faults at least FIFA the international body actually runs soccer The ICC must run cricketrdquoTherein lies a perplexing problem The ICC doesnrsquot run cricket and unless therersquos a major change of heart the financially desirable nations will continue to have a huge say in producing a selfserving scheduleThen therersquos the major issue of the financial split The big threemdashIndia Australia and Englandmdashdespite being the wealthiest cricket nations claim a large slice of the money divided among cricket bodies and yet they agitate for an even larger shareIndiarsquos powerful presence on the ICC is in direct proportion to their contribution of around 70 per cent of cricketrsquos income Itrsquos a complex issue to which cricket hasnrsquot found a workable solutionProducing a player who performs well in Test cricket requires having a strong fourday competition Itrsquos extremely expensive to run a fourday competition and therefore not many beyond the big three can really afford the burdenItrsquos one reason why T20 cricket flourishes running a successful T20 competition improves the financial capacity of a cricket body This along with running a successful T20 competition being vastly more acceptable than losing money on a firstclass schedule dominates the thinking of most cricket administratorsCricket being run by a competent ICC is a pipe dream Hence the growing T20 calendar and the current scheduling schemozzle that plagues the gameThe proliferation and financial rewards of T20 leagues have also impacted the motivation of many players The number of batsmen playing audacious shots has increased while bowlers and captains desperately seek ways to contain fast scoringItrsquos reaching the point where fans attending Test matches expect to see more T20style shots played Despite the uncertain viability of these shots in a Test the enthusiastic reaction to Sam Konstas daring debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground suggests this is already happeningTherersquos been a large increase in Test match results and more acceptable pitches highlighting the importance bowlers play in producing a good spectacle Therersquos also greater emphasis on playing entertaining cricket Despite facing various challenges Test cricket does a creditable job of keeping the format relevantNevertheless some issues including a reasonable schedule the criminally slow speed of play which creates notoriously poor overrates are critically addressed Test cricket will struggle to attract younger audiencesCricket administration is difficult However in addition to producing a viable twotier system there are other pressing matters that need urgent attention if Test cricket is to improve its relevance in the wider sporting worldSydneybased Ian Chappell is an influential voice in world cricketClayton Murzellorsquos Pavilion End column will be back next weekThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper