The ongoing ICC World Test Championship series between England and West Indies has been quite one-sided. England absolutely bulldozed their rivals in the first Test hosted by Lord’s, and now in the second Test, they have been quite dominant once again.
This is not the first time a higher-ranked team has decimated its opposition in the World Test Championship. The lower-ranked teams seem completely helpless. Hence, here are two ways ICC can ensure that there are limited one-sided matches in a World Test Championship series.
1. ICC should divide World Test Championship teams into Tier 1 and Tier 2
At the moment, there are 12 Test-playing nations, but only nine get to play in the WTC. Three teams, namely Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe have Test status, but they have to majorly play among themselves only.
Meanwhile, teams like Bangladesh and West Indies struggle to compete with the other seven teams. Hence, ICC should think of introducing a two-tier concept, with six teams in each tier.
In that way, all teams in same tier can play against each other as well. There can be promotion and demotion after every cycle to keep things exciting. Also, if teams like India and Pakistan are in the same tier, they will have to play a series against each other, which will attract more revenue to the ICC through the WTC model in future.
2. Away team decides whether to bat or bowl first
Home advantage is not a major thing in shorter formats, but it plays a huge role in Test cricket. Perhaps, ICC can give some advantage to the away team as well by letting them decide whether they want to bat or bowl first. The toss can be done away with in the away team’s scenario. Through these two ways, the WTC can be better than ever.
