ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC- President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Dave Cameron, has rejected reports that the WICB had backed a proposal to split Test cricket into a two-tier structure.
Cameron was responding to reports suggesting that WICB had joined boards of Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan in backing the proposal which was opposed by India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Cameron, who is planning to seek a third term in office, says the WICB remains undecided on the issue.
“The West Indies Cricket Board’s position has always been, demonstrate to me and show us the entire model before we could make a decision on either way to go,” said Cameron.
“The WICB has never taken a position on the model because we did not have enough information.”
According to the proposal, the two-tier system would involve seven teams in the top tier and five in the bottom, with promotion and relegation based on performance.
Afghanistan and Ireland, as the leading Associate teams, would join the three lowest-ranked Test playing nations in the bottom tier, with other Associates having a chance at promotion based on performance.
However the proposal was scrapped on Wednesday during a meeting of the chief executives’ committee (CEC) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai.
“It’s not just a two-tier system in isolation; it was a way of trying to improve the finances and the commercial reality around cricket,” Cameron explained.
“So it was not just about having two tiers in isolation, it was a commercial model.”
