Is Test cricket still two-tier?
Let's go look at the FTP.
| Jul '25 - Jun '26 | |
| TESTS | |
| T1 v T1 | 10 |
| T1(h) v T2 | 6 |
| T1(a) v T2 | 3 |
| T2 v T2 | 6 |
The answer is: largely yes.
The big 3 are playing each other a lot. England are just gonna stick with that.
India graciously host WI, NZ and RSA.
Australia are somewhat surprisingly visiting the Caribbean, slumming it there for 3 whole Tests. I assume the WTC is to thank for this.
Some T2 series happen.
One of the first cricket photos I took. Pictured is Shane Warne bowling to Jacques Rudolph, taken from the Railway Stand at Newlands.
SA had won the preceding ODI series 3-2, with the last ODI on 12 March being the famous 438 game in Joburg. This was the third day of the first Test.
The Proteas had batted first and folded for 205 with Stuart Clark taking a fiver on debut. A creditable effort by a Proteas bowling lineup in transition restricted Aus to 308. SA second innings went no better ending on 197. Aus chased a target of 95 down with seven wickets in hand and would go on to win the series 3-0.
I can't say I remember the day clearly, but it's likely I would have spent it drinking Bosun's Bitter and getting sunburnt.
Shot was taken with a Fujifilm FinePix A350. I'd bought the camera in December 2005 at the beginning of a summer road trip back to the Eastern Cape. EXIF tells me it was taken at f4.7, 1/500s, ISO64, and a focal length of 17.4mm. The latter can't be right - it would surely have been more like the 105mm maximum supporting the advertised "3x optical zoom".
1. YBK Jaiswal
2. UT Khawaja
3. KS Williamson
4. JE Root
5. HC Brook
6. RR Pant (wk)
7. RA Jadeja
8. PJ Cummins (c)
9. NM Lyon
10. KG Rababa
11. JJ Bumrah
12. SB Smith
It's a tough era for opening batters. I maintain that specialist openers are important. Resisting the urge to make like most teams and just shuffle your other batters into the position means that an unproven Jaiswal and a fading Khawaja get the spots, Ben Duckett being the next in line.
The rest of the team is a lot simpler. Williamson, Root and Brook are an easy middle order to pick. Steve Smith just misses out and carries the drinks instead.
The Indian pair of Pant and Jadeja are the top ranked keeper and all rounder respectively. Yes I want a specialist keeper, Mohd Rizwan misses out.
Lyon beats Noman Ali to the spinners spot. Bumrah, Rabada and Cummins would surprise nobody as the pace lineup, with Hazelwood the man missing out.
I've been won over to Cummin's captaincy so he gets the arm band ahead of some other strong candidates in the team.
Life as ever is busy with various other priorities and projects. I'm going to try and make more regular updates here. After all opinions are for free, and I've got a bunch.
It's been discussed and rejected before, but like it or not Two Tier International Cricket is here. It was coming anyway and the Covid-19 pandemic has made it the de facto reality.
The Tier 1 teams play each other, and the Tier 2 teams play each other. Occasionally a Tier 2 team gets an Exhibition Tour over at one of the Tier 1 nations place, where they are expected to provide spirited but ultimately futile resistance.
State of play at the time of writing: England's brave venture into Sri Lanka is the only T1 visit to a T2 team. And that was clearly intended as a warm up in Asian conditions for the upcoming English visit to India.
| Mar 20 - Feb 21 | |
| TESTS | |
| T1 v T1 | 4 |
| T1(h) v T2 | 6 |
| T1(a) v T2 | 2 |
| T2 v T2 | 7 |
Is it likely to change?
Nope
| Feb ‘21 - ‘22 | |
| TESTS | |
| T1 v T1 | 5 |
| T1(h) v T2 | 2 |
| T1(a) v T2 | 0 |
| T2 v T2 | 3 |
