World Test Championship 2.0

[brandon]

The smaller nations will end up playing each other more as a consequence.

They won’t, not in Tests anyway. They’ll get to the position where they just think “what’s the point?!”

 

[centurymaker]

It would be the death knell for Test Cricket in my view though, creating a structure that excludes the other nations would kill Test Cricket in rapid time.

Yeah it could. But the counter argument is there's always between just 2-3 strong nations (historically) who have kept Test Cricket alive.

Aus Eng before WW2
Aus Eng WI till the 80s

 

[Immenso]

So for example England, they only make a profit two years out of four years when Aus or Ind come over. The other two years are a loss. They are looking to remove one of the loss years and simply have a three year cycle, so that they can make profits two years out of three.

This isn't true.

ECB's last 4 financial results:

Profit/Loss
2023/24: £21.8m
2022/23: £13.4m
2021/22: £21.4m
2020/21: (£16.1m)

 

[Anthony Clayden]

England not happy they didn't make the finals of a comp that they repeatedly said they didn't value.
Lost points for bowling slowly.

 

[centurymaker]

This isn't true.

ECB's last 4 financial results:

Profit/Loss
2023/24: £21.8m
2022/23: £13.4m
2021/22: £21.4m
2020/21: (£16.1m)

Well, these figures include everything. All sources of revenue. These don't tell us what they made from hosting tests.

 

[Immenso]

Well, these figures include everything. All sources of revenue. These don't tell us what they made from hosting tests.

So, not a loss (every second year) then.

 

[centurymaker]

Would like to see their figures for the last summer when they hosted WI and SL though we'll only know later this year .

 

[L Trumper]

This is sort of common through 70s and 80s, Aus were inviting WI every other year because that's what made them money.

90s and 00s were sort of anomaly with all nations playing each other close to equal frequency.

Even if teams are not playing against each other that much you'd still have them play once or twice a decade at least. 2 tiers would get rid of even that, and it'd definitely be a death knell for tests in several countries.

 

[Molehill]

Would like to see their figures for the last summer when they hosted WI and SL though we'll only know later this year .

There were still pretty solid attendances at those Test Matches. But that's kind of the problem, the WTC in its current format simply hasn't been a catalyst for people attending Test Matches in most countries. S Africa knew if they beat SL and Pakistan they'd be in the Final, yet hardly anyone turned up to watch.

The current WTC doesn't work on so many levels and its right that it needs to be changed. I'm really not sure what to though, because certain countries seem to have completely lost their paying public for this format.