Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief, Johnny Grave, has called out the boards of India, Australia, and England for changes in the revenue model to sustain the Test format and ensure its survival among other nations.
The three boards – BCCI, CA, and ECB – also known as the ‘Big Three,’ generate revenues through playing and hosting Test matches that surpass those of other nations such as South Africa and West Indies.
While defending Cricket South Africa (CSA) for sending an inexperienced squad for the New Zealand Test series, Grave said that the revenue model is “completely broken”.
“The revenue-share model is completely broken. 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”, Grave told ESPNcricinfo.
Grave also criticized former Australia skipper Steve Waugh, who had criticized South Africa for prioritizing T20 leagues over Test cricket.
“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. Is that fair and reasonable?”, Grave questioned.
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Grave opined that the revenue sharing model needs to be changed to make Test cricket thrive outside the Big Three.
“Hopefully the South Africa series has woken up the Australian media to the realities of what it’s like to operate Test cricket, and unless the boards change the economic model, I don’t think Test cricket will thrive outside of the Big Three,” Grave said. “I don’t think it will die either. But it could be and should be so much better“, Grave concluded.
