Australia, who recently won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on home soil by 3-1, along with India, England, and the International Cricket Council are reportedly in talks to have a two-tier Test cricket system with an eye towards having the big three nations playing each other more often.
It has been reported that there is a plan by ICC Chairman Jay Shah, Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird, and England and Wales Cricket Board chief Richard Thompson to meet later this month and discuss a two-tier structure for Test cricket, fixed firmly in the latter's agenda.
"Their discussions have been given further impetus by enormous crowds and broadcast audiences for Australia's five matches against India over the past two months, the fourth-best attended series ever in this country and reportedly the most-watched Test series ever played.".
Any plan for a move to two divisions in Test cricket would kick in after the end of the current Future Tours Program in 2027, a year which will also feature a 150th anniversary Test match between Australia and England at the MCG," said the report.
It further added if the two-tier Test structure becomes a reality, then Australia, England, and India would be freed from playing Test cricket against many nations, and the three nations could play each other twice in every three years, instead of playing each other once every four years.
Interestingly, a two-tier system in Test cricket was first mooted in an ICC Board meeting in 2016, with seven nations to compete in the first division and the remaining five countries to compete in the second division.
However, it was shelved in 2016 as at that time, the BCCI, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) opposed it.
The report further suggests that the approval of the two-tier system will herald a new era for cricket, with the World Test Championship finishing just after another cycle as this system offers a more extensive perspective on the game played over multiple days since it began in 2019.
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