West Indies Ridiculed After First Innings Collapse Against India As 2-Tier System Debate Intensifies
West Indies' woeful show against India on Day 1 of the Ahmedabad Test has intensified the 2-tier Test cricket debate.
Ranked eighth in the ICC Test Rankings, the West Indies had a terrible time in the middle against India during Day 1 of the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The touring side was bowled out for just 162 runs, with Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah emerging as the pick of the bowlers for the hosts. Seeing the West Indies being dominated in red-ball cricket again, former India batter Aakash Chopra added fuel to the two-tier Test cricket debate.
Chopra, a cricketer-turned-pundit, delved deep into the statistics as he highlighted the poor averages of West Indies batters in Test cricket.
"If you see the top six batters of the West Indies team, everyone's average is in the twenties. Chanderpaul has an average of barely over 30, just 31.11. So, just one batter has an average of over 30, and even that is not like 35 or something, and the rest are like 25-ish. If you are a member of the team with this average, that too after playing a significant amount of Test cricket, then it is clear that there is no prowess. They are playing Test cricket, but are they good enough for Tests?", Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
The gulf between certain Test teams in world cricket has seen many propose a two-tier system which would see the existing Test-playing nations (currently 12 Full Members) divided into two performance, based divisions or "tiers."
The first division would feature the top-ranked teams (likely six teams, potentially including the 'Big Three' -- Australia, England, and India -- along with teams like South Africa and New Zealand).
The second division would contain the remaining Full Member nations and potentially some Associate Member teams. Aakash Chopra feels the West Indies' performance against India does give credence to those in favour of the two-tier system.
"Now, should there be a tier system in Test cricket? This series acts as fuel to the fire in this conversation. The point of the WTC was to bring excitement in the longest format, with teams battling it out for points-it feels nice to hear it. There is importance because teams want points, but where will you bring the contest from? You have not lost a single Test to them in the last 20-22 years, so what contest?" he said.
India Cricket Team
West Indies Cricket Team