'Don't know if it will make any difference'- Johnny Grave on ICC's USD 15 million proposed Test fund

The outgoing CEO of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Johnny Grave, has opened up on the effectiveness of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) proposed USD 15 million Test fund. The initiative, sanctioned by newly elected ICC chairman Jay Shah, aims to boost Test cricket in nations outside, India, England, and Australia.

The Test fund, initially proposed by Cricket Australia's chairman Mark Baird and supported by ECB and BCCI, addresses the current imbalance in Test cricket. One of its key provisions includes a USD 10,000 match fee for players per Test appearance.

"Cricket as a game needs to think much more as a league and needs to understand everyone's business models a bit better. I think there are some positive noises from the Big 3, I think the Test fund was a good initiative. I don't know if US $15 million a year will make any difference to anything," Grave said on the TalkSport podcast.

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We've really struggled to get 'A' team tours: Johnny Grave

Grave pointed out that the proposed match fee is already standard practice for CWI and believes that how the fund is going to help the longest format of the game.

"I think the idea of paying a Test fee of US $10,000 is not even window dressing. We pay our players US $10,000. So, I sort of smiled when I saw that come out in the press. I thought, 'how is it going to change cricket and how's that going to be the savior of Test cricket when our players are already getting paid that?' It's not going to make any difference to us," he added.

Instead of focusing solely on financial incentives, Grave believes in structural changes to improve Test cricket. He believes in having more three-match series, dedicated Test windows to avoid competition with franchise tournaments, and support for 'A' team programs. 

"What will make a difference, in my opinion, to improve West Indies Test cricket is by playing more three-match series rather than two-match series, by having dedicated Test windows where you're not competing against franchise opportunities, or actually supporting our 'A' team programmes. We've really struggled to get 'A' team tours," Grave further added.

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Despite his apprehensions, Grave welcomes the shift in mindset from the Big Three and believes apart from the three there have to be more strong oppositions. 

"I welcome the debate and I'm not saying that I or we at West Indies cricket have all the answers, but we welcome the debate, we welcome the slight change in mindset which is the Big 3 can't just play against themselves, they've got to have a stronger opposition," he concluded.