Is the ICC finally waking up to the realities of Test cricket?

Dwayne Bravo has voiced his concern regarding the two-tier Test cricket system

The two-tier system has its share of critics

Though the ICC is trying to introduce the two-tier system for the benefit of Test cricket, the proposed structure has already received its fair share of criticism. The most immediate concern has been voiced by full Test-playing nations like Bangladesh and the West Indies which are most likely to drop into the second tier.

Dropping into the second tier will also mean competing with lower ranked and newly introduced teams like Ireland, Afghanistan and Nepal. Though the countries will be free to organise bilateral Test series outside the FTP, their decreased share of matches against the top-ranked oppositions will result in dwindling interest and poor television rating which will hurt their revenue even more.

The BCB director Ahmed Sajjadul Alam recently said that the paucity of Tests and matches against lower ranked oppositions will hurt their interests should the two-tier system be introduced.

"The future of international cricket for Bangladesh is going to be dreadful," he said while speaking to ESPNcricinfo. "Already we now have to qualify for ICC events like the 50-over World Cup and World T20. If we don't qualify for these two ICC events, and at the same time remain a second-tier [Test] side, interest among the public, media, broadcasters and sponsors will be greatly reduced.

"We are facing a huge loss, and we are doing it without even offering a fight. Soon world cricket will go back by several decades to the time when the Imperial Cricket Conference used to run the show, with just six or seven teams playing cricket and teams like Bangladesh waiting in the sidelines for handouts."

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo voiced similar concerns recently while criticising the proposed two-tier system.

"It will struggle because of the shorter formats of the game," he said. "It's shorter, it's more entertaining, it's more fan-friendly. The kids look more towards the shorter format."

"I think people just have to face reality, times change. Kids realise that it will benefit them financially if they play the shorter format of the game. As a Test player, those who are in charge have to do something differently to encourage people to play Test cricket," he observed.

"As professional players, this is what you do for a living. So it's common sense, if you weight it up, if it doesn't benefit you financially - players know and make decisions for their family and their careers," said Bravo.