The ICC recently set aside a proposal to divide Test cricket into two tiers.The idea of dividing Test-playing nations into two leagues is often accompanied by a proposal to turn bilateral Test tours into components of a larger league. It is not clear why spectators would be more likely to watch a Test match today because it is part of a Test championship where the title will be awarded three years from now. The argument about context seems to be little more than a rhetorical device for justifying the shrinking of the highest level of cricket to a competition among seven teams. Though the proposal has been shelved for now, the actions of crickets administrators in recent years suggest that under the guise of making the game more competitive, Test cricket will eventually be reduced to a smaller competition.In the 21st century, as cricket has become a lucrative commodity for television broadcasters, no board has been able to resist the temptation to shape things in a way that suits the interests of broadcasters. This is especially true about T20, the most lucrative format, one made for TV.Since the first T20 game was played in 2003, the number of matches played each year has grown. This growth spurt peaked in 2013, when 731 T20 matches were played globally. In January 2016, 180 T20 matches were played, the most in a single month to date. Further increases in T20 cricket are proposed. In June 2016, the BCCI announced plans for a mini-IPL. A new city-based T20 league is also planned in England. This will probably be in addition to the existing 133-match domestic T20 tournament that features county teams.T20 started out as a seasonal game. From 2003 to 2009, about 60% of all T20 games were played in the four months from April through July. This pattern changed in the period from 2010 to 2015, when T20 games were distributed more evenly through the year.This has had an effect on Test and ODI cricket. A total of 1009 ODIs were played from 2003 to 2009 (144 per year), and 781 were played in 2010-15 (130 per year). Both periods included two World Cup tournaments. If we consider ODI matches featuring only the top eight Test-playing nations (setting aside matches involving Bangladesh for the sake of even comparison), 84 matches per year were played from 2003 to 09, 75 in 2010-15.Test cricket has been similarly affected. A total of 309 Tests were played in 2003-09 (44 per year), 252 in 2010-15 (42 per year). If you consider only matches featuring Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa, 69 were played in 2003-09 (about ten per year), 54 in 2010-15 (nine per year). Considering matches involving only India, Australia and England, 40 Tests were played in 2003-09 (5.7 per year), 47 were played in 2010-15 (7.8 per year). Since his Test debut in November 2010, Kane Williamson has played 52 Tests. In the same period Alastair Cook has played 73.While the five smaller established nations - South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies, have played less Test cricket among themselves in 2010-15 compared to 2003-09, the record is the opposite in ODI cricket. From 2003 to 2009, they averaged 24 ODIs per year. In 2010-15, this increased to 26 ODIs per year.International cricket has been mauled by the pressure of T20 into featuring the more lucrative short-form games. It is important to remember that this does not mean Test cricket does not generate revenue. However, given the existence of highly lucrative shorter forms, the incentive to play less lucrative forms is reduced.If Test cricket is divided into two tiers, and if the top tier is designed to include seven teams, it will effectively mean shrinking Test cricket from a ten-team sport to a seven-team sport. This will codify and accelerate a process that, as the data shows, began early this decade. The Big Three - India, Australia and England - have played a larger share of Tests than before. They also host the biggest T20 leagues. The star players from the five second-tier Test-playing nations will be easily lured away by various T20 franchises. Most crucially, whereas T20 leagues today have to compete with a ten-team Test match sport, they will effectively have to compete with only a seven-team sport. Imagine being one of top eight established nations relegated to the second-tier Test league. It effectively means being banned from quality Test match competition for one league cycle. For many players, it could mean the end of their Test careers.If a tier system has to be created, it should not depend on splitting the existing set of Test teams. At worst, perhaps Zimbabwe could be the lead team of the second tier, which could involve teams ranked 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 in the world, with the possibility of one team moving up or down following a play-off. That would genuinely expand the game. It would give at least three to four teams in this second tier a realistic chance for promotion. It will also protect the established Test nations from the danger of relegation, which could prove catastrophic to their prospects as a Test-playing power. Existing Test nations must be protected from the vicious cycle of not getting games, becoming worse as a result, and then not getting games because they are worse than they used to be.It is not clear how the purpose of growing the game will be served if the highest, most difficult level is practised by fewer teams than before. It is true that Bangladesh v England at Lords is likely to be one-sided in the short term (or even in the medium term), but Bangladesh will benefit from the experience, just as India, Pakistan and New Zealand did from the many tours they undertook in the years after World War II.Conventional wisdom has it that T20 is a gateway drug to cricket. It is a method to introduce the game to new audiences and potential playing populations. The evidence suggests that it has played out the other way. Cricket has been the gateway drug to T20. T20 leagues came into being because all the ingredients for making profits were already in place thanks to decades of cricket.Cricket did not develop in India because it was a popular sport for the masses. It developed because there was a critical mass of organised clubs in the big cities of British India (and later independent India). These clubs were organised into a board, which in turn organised bigger tournaments and put together a representative team whose exploits made the sport popular in other parts of the country. The possibility of playing tier-two Test cricket would be an ideal stepping stone for Associate Member teams that currently compete in tournaments like the Intercontinental Cup. Just like with clubs in Mumbai or Colombo, given the opportunity, clubs in Associate member countries could learn to produce competitive representative teams. If these teams are successful, it is possible that they will be popular. This will eventually invite private investors. Private enterprise typically takes root only in conditions where the likelihood of success is already reasonably high.A two-tier system along the lines of the proposal that has been shelved for now will probably serve the short-term interests of the established boards. A greater concentration of highly competitive games will mean more money in TV contracts the next time these are negotiated. Does the reduction of the games highest form to a competition between seven teams serve any purpose beyond gaining a few extra percentage points in revenue in the next TV contract negotiations? Administrators ought to keep one eye on where they would like cricket to be in, say, 2050 and weigh that against the benefits of a few extra dollars in 2019.Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Custom Nike Baltimore Orioles Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. https://www.customjerseysnikebaseball.com/ . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Custom Nike Miami Marlins Jerseys . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Cheap . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Rookie Wil Myers ended a game that saw former Cy Young Award winners David Price and Tim Lincecum start out by matching each other nearly pitch-for-pitch. Myers hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Tampa Bay Rays to a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night. "He does not lack for confidence," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He really wanted to be in that moment." Desmond Jennings drew a leadoff walk in the 10th from Jean Machi (2-1) and stole second. Ben Zobrist was intentionally walked and Evan Longoria walked to load the bases on four pitches before Myers won it on his 0-1 liner that went over the left fielders head. "It was just one of those things that I knew he had to throw a good pitch," Myers said. "Its a good situation to be in, bases loaded, no outs. I just tried to stay calm up there." Myers parents were in attendance for his first walko-ff hit. He had a 12-game hitting streak end Friday. "Its pretty cool to have them here for this one," Myers said. Closer Fernando Rodney (4-2) allowed two hits during a scoreless 10th, striking out Brandon Crawford with two on and two out. The starters were outstanding. Price gave up one run, five hits and struck out five in nine innings. In seven starts since returning from a left triceps injury, the Rays left-hander has allowed just 10 runs, 38 hits, one walk, and struck out 40 over 57 1-3 innings. "Its just executing pitches," Price said. Lincecum allowed one run, six hits, one walk and fanned five in seven innings. "We know we were up against some good pitching and we knew we had to make something happen, but you dont go out there thinking Ive got to pitch against Price, Ive got to be perfect," Lincecum said. "I have to be perfect regardless of who Im pitching against so it wasnt any added pressure." Lincecum was making his third start -- the previous two were losses -- since throwing a no-hitter at San Diego July 13. "Hes in a good place," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Hes strong, hes got a lot of confidence going.dddddddddddd Hes using all his pitches. Hes on the top of his game so it was a well pitched game on both sides." It was just the second game in Rays history that featured two former Cy Young Award winners. The first came May 9 when Price pitched against Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in a contest that included both reigning winners. Jeff Francoeur doubled leading off eighth for his third hit in three at-bats against Price and advanced to third on fly, but was left stranded when Crawford hit a soft liner and Andres Torres had a grounder. Crawford put San Francisco up 1-0 with an RBI single in the third. Price struck out Crawford with runners on second and third to end the fifth. Zobrist tied it at 1 in the third on a run-scoring grounder that drove in Jose Molina, who walked to open the inning. Molina went to second on wild pitch and advanced to third on Kelly Johnsons infield single that saw Lincecum get in the way of first baseman Brett Pill as he tried to tag out Johnson. "We just got kind of tangled up over there," Lincecum said. "I can see that he wanted to cover first on his own, and I was just kind of in the way of that." Giants catcher Buster Posey made a nifty play in the fourth on Myers infield single. He chased down an errant throw by the first-base dugout and threw out the speedy rookie as he tried to reach second. Longoria went 0 for 3, including three strikeouts and two walks, and is hitless in his last 17 at-bats. He hit just .194 in July, a month the Rays went 21-5. NOTES: Rays RHP Alex Cobb, hit in the head by a liner in June, gave up one run and three hits over four innings for Class A Charlotte in his second rehab start. His first outing July 23 ended after just two pitches due to a blister. ... Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (fractured right hand) will make his fourth appearance with Double-A Richmond Sunday and is nearing a return to the rotation. ... Left-handed hitting Giants 1B Brandon Belt, who had three hits in Friday night 4-1 win after three games off for a mental break and work on his swing, was not in the lineup with Price starting. ' ' '
