Time for Divisions in International Cricket?

[James]

Thinking about the summer of cricket in Australia and what's coming up in New Zealand with the mismatches that have been going on and the poor crowd numbers.

Is it now time to introduce divisions into international cricket to try and avoid series like Pak/Aus, NZ/Bang, etc?

 

[Goughy]

Hmm, read the title and I was ready for a fiery and controversial article followed by a messy thread about how there should be a division in Test cricket between Asian teams and the others.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I'm actually all for divisions. It may be the only chance for WI to win something any time soon.

 

[slugger]

I have no problem with a division or two teir split, Im even happy to conceed that NZ would be placed in the lower, what concerns me most is if a team in the above division doesnt live up to or maintain its place, how easy will be to drop them like say if it was India or England. its got to be fair and just for all and i don't see this occurring once the divisions have been made.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

If there are divisions then surely there can be no way to avoid being relegated if you finish bottom. No matter what team it is.

 

[Uppercut]

Is the lack of competitive series a recent thing? I was under the impression that there are more teams at a similar level now than there are usually.

There just doesn't seem to be too many interesting series in the FTP at the moment. The Aussie summer was a bit of a dud. Hopefully the two India-South Africa tests will be something to write home about.

That said, I'd love divisions in test cricket. But it won't happen. As a sport it's strangely adverse to the idea of a meritocracy.

 

[Julian87]

Will never work because AFAIC you jujst can't call the bottom tier 'test cricket'.

 

[Uppercut]

Will never work because AFAIC you jujst can't call the bottom tier 'test cricket'.

You can call it whatever you like mate.

 

[Julian87]

And you're not going to be able to relegate an Australia/India/England/South Africa I reckon.

 

[James]

I was thinking more along the lines of we have the IPL, the Champions League and the on-set of a lot of Twenty20 cricket. Something has got to give now surely?

It seems your average fan is more interested in the KFC Big-Bash than what they are in WIndies/Aus or Pak/Aus. Likewise in NZ with the Twenty20 Domestic League compared to the Bangladesh series.

You're killing international cricket with these series I tend to think.

 

[Uppercut]

How would you structure the divisions James? Five in the top tier and four in the bottom?

 

[James]

I would do 3 divisions personally with promotion/relegation only between Divisions 1 and 2.

Test

Division 1

India, South Africa, Australia, England

Division 2

Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies

Division 3

Zimabwe, Bangladesh, the rest.

ODI

Division 1

Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand

Division 2

England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies

Division 3

Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, the rest.

 

[Uppercut]

How would Zimbabwe/Bangladesh (theoretically) get out of Division 3?

 

[James]

How would Zimbabwe/Bangladesh (theoretically) get out of Division 3?

They never would. Australia for example would only play them possibly at World Cup time.

Take Rugby Union for example, the likes of Japan, Canada, Samoa, etc have been playing for much longer than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have been playing cricket, but they're never going to be power houses in rugby so the big nations only play them once in a blue moon. Why can't the same sort of thing apply to cricket? Who would watch a 3 Test Rugby series between England and Canada and get excited about it? The same thing applies to a England v Bangladesh series IMO.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Surely there must be some avenue for upward movement though.

 

[James]

Surely there must be some avenue for upward movement though.

There would be in my thoughts between the top 8 nations, but not below that.

Do you honestly think any of the current minnows are going to improve out of site and beat any of the top 8 teams consistently within the next 10 years?

 

[NUFAN]

I would do 3 divisions personally with promotion/relegation only between Divisions 1 and 2.

Test

Division 1

India, South Africa, Australia, England

Division 2

Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies

Division 3

Zimabwe, Bangladesh, the rest.

ODI

Division 1

Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand

Division 2

England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies

Division 3

Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, the rest.

SOOO boring just playing the same 3 teams over and over again.

My biggest problem is that there is no need for some of the series going on. For instance, why does Pakistan have to stay in the country for an extra 5 days just for a T20 match?

There tour should have finished at the latest on Sunday. Ideally it should have just been 3 Tests, 3 ODIs and 1 T20.

I don't really have a problem with the Bangladesh tour of NZ. It's a short sharp tour. Bangladesh should improve as the tour goes on.

 

[Uppercut]

Well yeah, but that's not the case with Zimbabwe. They were deservedly ranked above England (who you have in the top tier) at one stage. Would that side have been left permanently with everyone else?

There is a precedent of rugby teams improving significantly, hence we now have Six Nations rather than Five.

 

[Simon]

Cant work for so many reasons, for example aren't domestic first class matches only played in test playing nations, what happens when countries like Ireland etc.. are promoted and dont have first class cricket or their standard is really poor.
Also how do the countries in the lower divisions make money, surely matches with those teams aren't going to be heavily supported and that until they move up.
What happens when big rivals are in the opposite division, not having India vs Pakistan ever would suck.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

There would be in my thoughts between the top 8 nations, but not below that.

Do you honestly think any of the current minnows are going to improve out of site and beat any of the top 8 teams consistently within the next 10 years?

Surely it's not fair to deny them the opportunity to do so though.