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Is a promotion and relegation system the future of Test match cricket?
Jordan Moll • January 3rd, 2025 7:04 pm
This Border-Gavaskar series has showcased the best of test match cricket, from the controversies to the heroics to the fierce contests.
But the level of competition displayed in this series is not replicated across world cricket, with a lack of competitive contests causing fans to turn away from test cricket.
During play on day one at the SCG, Ravi Shastri discussed what the World Test Championship could look like with a two-tiered promotion and relegation system.
“I’ve been a firm believer in that if you want test cricket to survive and be alive and thriving, I think that’s the way to go," Shastri said on SEN cricket.
The idea of a two-tiered system has been floated before, with teams playing series for WTC points exclusively with nations in their tier.
Test series can still be conducted between nations outside your division, but it would not count towards WTC points.
“The top teams play against each other more often, so there is a contest; you want contests,” the Indian legend said.
By having a two-division system, it would open up the opportunity for more nations to play test match cricket, as it would be easier to gain test-match status from the ICC.
The criticism of this model is the problem that could arise if one of the major test-playing nations were to get relegated to Division Two.
If the likes of Australia, England or India were relegated, it would come at a severe financial loss for major sponsors, the cricketing bodies and the television companies that produce the majority of the income for test cricket.
“Television plays a big role; a lot of the income that comes in to sustain test cricket is from television,” Shastri explained.
But if you could still play series like the Ashes and the BGT, even if those nations were in different divisions, it would still allow for that historic contest to continue whilst growing cricket in other parts of the world.
This would also prevent any test match from being a ‘dead rubber’ as there may be promotion or relegation on the line for a nation, adding to the contest.
“You had a contest at the MCG; see the kind of crowds that came in, they embraced test match cricket, it was one of the best advertisements ever," Shastri said.
Is this change what we need to grow test cricket across the world?
Tune into all the action of the SCG test live on the SEN app.
