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West Indies great Clive Lloyd is “disturbed” by the idea of a two-tier structure for Test cricket and believes efforts should instead be focused on ensuring struggling teams play more often against the top sides.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, India, Australia and England are in talks to divide Test cricket into two divisions to allow cricket’s “Big Three” to play each other more often.
The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Indian chairman Jay Shah will meet representatives of the Australian and English boards this month, the report said.
Lloyd was fiercely critical of the idea, which he believed could be catastrophic for the likes of the West Indies, which ruled the game in the 1970s and 1980s when he was captain.
“I think it will be terrible for all those countries who worked so hard to get the Test status,” the 80-year-old told an online media interaction.
“Now they’ll be playing among themselves in the lower section. How are they going to make it to the top? When you play against better teams.”
The ICC did not offer any immediate comment on whether the proposal was under consideration.
Test cricket is reeling under the popularity of T20 leagues across the world, but the format produces intense drama at the top level.
Lloyd warned that being banished to the lower tier with a corresponding drop in funding could lead to the disintegration of the West Indies team, which is made up of players from 15 island nations.
“Our islands have got to play together. We’ve been doing that for years,” he added.
