{"id":4653,"date":"2024-01-16T10:42:13","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T10:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totalcric.com\/?p=4653"},"modified":"2024-01-16T10:42:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T10:42:26","slug":"johnny-grave-india-australia-and-england-boards-should","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totalcric.com\/johnny-grave-india-australia-and-england-boards-should\/","title":{"rendered":"India, Australia and England boards should do more for Test cricket – Johnny Grave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Cricket West Indies chief Johnny Grave says the revenue-share model is “completely broken”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boards of India, England and Australia must act decisively to change the economics of Test cricket or risk more instances of under-strength squads going out on tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is the warning from Johnny Grave, the Cricket West Indies CEO,\u00a0who was responding to criticism<\/a>\u00a0aimed at his board and Cricket South Africa for sending inexperienced Test squads to\u00a0Australia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0New Zealand respectively<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The revenue-share model is completely broken,” Grave said. “If we operate as a cricketing community we are only as strong as the weakest team, and we’ve got to change the mindset of bilateral cricket.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, Cricket West Indies\u00a0put forward a paper<\/a>\u00a0regarding T20 leagues, which asked for a cap on the number of overseas players in leagues, and a fee for home boards. Those\u00a0suggestions were greenlit last year<\/a>, but it was too late, according to Grave. The regulations are not retrospective and exclude the ILT20 in the UAE (which allows nine foreign players in the XI), the Major League Cricket tournament in the USA (six) and the Global T20 in Canada (five). That means the horse has bolted and is perhaps beyond reining in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “If those regulations had been in place, the ILT20 probably wouldn’t have had the\u00a0effect it has had<\/a>\u00a0on bilateral international cricket because it wouldn’t have had as many international players, therefore wouldn’t have got the broadcast revenues and probably wouldn’t be offering the kinds of money they are offering,” Grave said. “And then by default, South Africa wouldn’t necessarily have to be investing so much in international talent for the SA20.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What I would say to Steve Waugh is that CWI has spent $2 million supporting Australian cricket in the last four months and we’ve seen zero dollars back”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Grave spoke about the impact on South Africa – who he has a “huge amount of sympathy for” – because their case is starker. They will send an entirely makeshift Test squad<\/a>, including a debutant captain, to New Zealand, while the majority of their first-choice Test team is engaged at the SA20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When South Africa announced this squad, several Australians, including former captains Steve Waugh and Michael Clarke, criticised them, questioning whether the integrity of Test cricket could be retained. West Indies were also referenced at that point. Like South Africa, West Indies have seven uncapped players<\/a> in their Test squad in Australia, and some of their highest-profile players are not making the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “They [West Indies] haven’t picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now,” Waugh said to the Sydney Morning Herald <\/em>. “If the ICC or someone doesn’t step in shortly, then Test cricket doesn’t become Test cricket, because you’re not testing yourself against the best players.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n That “someone”, Grave says, should include Australia. “What I would say to Steve Waugh is that CWI has spent $2 million supporting Australian cricket in the last four months and we’ve seen zero dollars back,” Grave said. “Is that fair and reasonable?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n