“They’re talking about dismantling the West Indies” - World Cup-winning captain slams two-tier Test system

Two-time ODI World Cup-winning captain, Clive Llyod has slammed the idea of two tiers in Test cricket, claiming the move was targeted at “dismantling West Indies” cricket. Llyod said that the Windies cricket team have a rich history and shouldn’t be disbanded for their poor “monetary situation”.

He urged the ICC to step in and revamp WI cricket via monetary aid. Lloyd told Trinidad & Tobago Guardian (via Times Now):

“You could imagine they're talking about dismantling the West Indies, that is not the way to go. The way to go is to give them (West Indies and other teams) the same amount of money so they can improve their facilities, get better systems in place so that they can improve their cricket.”

“We (West Indies) have a great history, and now you're going to tell us that because of a monetary situation, (we should be disbanded),” he added.

Lloyd added the decision would affect the countries striving for Test cricket status. The 80-year-old further asked the ICC and cricket boards to sit down and find ways to popularize Test cricket, especially regarding fans’ participation in the five-day game. He said during the same interaction:

“I think it will be terrible for all those countries who work so hard to get to Test match status and now they'll be playing among themselves in the lower section.”

Lloyd led the West Indies to the 1975 and 1979 World Cups. Since then, WI are yet to win an ODI World Cup. They, however, have two T20 World Cup titles.

---

“It's not well organised” – West Indies legend slams ICC's World Test Championship model

Clive Llyod with the 2024 T20 World Cup trophy in the West Indies. [Image credits: Getty]

Clive Lloyd also slammed the ICC's World Test Championship (WTC) model, which came into existence in 2021, saying it was not “well organized.”

“It's not well organised as such because if I am in a Test team, I want to play cricket so I can qualify for that system,” he noted.

The remarks came even as West Indies played India, Australia, England and South Africa in their last 18 months. They played their last Test series Bangladesh in November last year.

In the upcoming WTC 2025-27 cycle, WI will play home Tests against Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. They will play their away games versus India, New Zealand and Bangladesh.