Two-tier Test proposal not the way to develop cricket: Vivian Richards

West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards feels that experimentation with the Pink ball will bring positive outcomes and help the Test format attract more spectators. However, at the same time,  he states that certain factors like weather conditions and venues may become a problem and a solution to it must be found.

The pink ball is slowing expanding its presence in world cricket. West Indies are scheduled to play the second-ever day-night Test against Pakistan in October. India is experimenting with the pink ball in domestic cricket by introducing the day-night format in the Duleep trophy. The idea behind the Pink ball is to modify Test cricket and fuel the interest in the game.

When asked about the prospect of the Pink ball and day-night format, Richards says “I think weather conditions are an important factor with the pink ball. In England, for example, you can get four seasons in one day. So it will be interesting to see how they will counter it.”

“But some other countries have the perfect weather for it, for example in India or the Caribbean or in the UAE. However, the problem is how long the pink ball lasts there. Earlier we used to have the same problem when we transformed from the red to white ball, but they might be close to finding a solution to this problem.”

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“Overall, I think there is nothing wrong with the idea of pink ball cricket. We have to change the face of Test cricket for us to bring more spectators to the ground. We need the best ways to enhance the game, and we need some experimentation for it. If pink ball is the way to do it, there is nothing wrong with it.”

The recently concluded Indian tour of the West Indies wasn’t an intense exhibition of Test cricket. West Indies were completely outplayed by the Indians. There was little competition between both the teams. Despite availability, many bigwigs were missing from the team. The discord between the players and the WICB has been the chief reason behind this debacle.

“To be fair, when you are not doing well in results you have to listen, you have to open your ears to solutions and advice. I am not quite sure what is happening at present. You hear all sort of talk about what is happening in West Indies cricket. I can only hope that people can come to their common sense because the game is much bigger than administration and much bigger than players. That’s how it should be treated.”

“There are a lot of individuals who want to take shortcuts and play just for T20 leagues across the world. By shortcuts, I mean, the attraction of Big Bash and IPL leagues is too strong and they are truly ignoring the spirit of the game. They must remember that at the very beginning, Test cricket was all we had, and then the shorter formats came much later. So we need to exercise some sort of control over this player movement.”

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Richards also asserts that T20 cricket lacks substance and emphasis must be put on the Test format. He feels that T20 cricket can kill tests if players keep skipping the longer format.

“Personally, I do not think there is much substance in T20 cricket. All of the great players of this game – the Gavaskars, the Tendulkars, the Bradmans – they have come from Test cricket. And if we put too much emphasis on other formats, we will lose all those great performances over the years. Tests are the caviar of cricket, and the administrators need to lay a strong foundation here.”

“Can they say, we are going to put aside a period for Test cricket, and all the teams in the world have to play this format at this time? If this happens, then maybe you can justify the focus on other formats as well. But otherwise, if players keep skipping one format to play in another financially lucrative format, then that will only create a mass exodus of players who just want to play T20 cricket. It will ultimately kill off Test cricket then.”

The International Cricket Council recently dropped the proposal for the two-tier league proposal after strong opposition from India, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh. Anurag Thakur, BCCI President had termed it as a detrimental and retrograde step for the financially weaker nations. Sir Viv Richards also has similar views; he feels that two-tier system will stop the weaker teams from growing.

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“I do not think we have enough teams in world cricket playing at a consistently high level for the two-tier structure to come into effect. If it happens, then there will be only be a few countries playing each other at the top. People must remember that many of these strong teams at present were weak once upon a time, India included. The great West Indies team used to beat them within three days at times.”

“But we didn’t stop playing them. So the contribution of West Indies made to world cricket cannot be denied. It needs to be remembered now when we are on our knees and the tables have turned. We need all the help to get us back where we once were, and two-tier Test proposal is not necessarily the way to do it.”

Viv also came up with the answer when asked about people comparing Kohli with him, “Virat is Virat. Sometimes you see certain similarities in the attitude of individuals. And he has an attitude that suggests he wants to succeed. He is aggressive and believes in the package that he has. And that to me is the best quality any individual can have, believing in what you do, believing in the players around you. Yes, at times he will be tested, and it has happened in the past, like in England (2014) or when he first came here to the West Indies.”

“Back then, he wasn’t the player he is today, and he has shown vast improvement since then. So he will have bad times but as long as he has the belief, nothing can stop him. And this was the one thing that was most impressive to me as an individual, seeing the confidence that he exudes. It is the confidence that you need at this level. To me, he seems to have an enormous passion for doing well in this game.”