ECB chief executive Richard Gould on his fears for two-tier proposal

England cricket chief executive Richard Gould fears Test cricket would suffer major financial harm if England, India or Australia found themselves in the second tier of the proposed structure.

England Cricket boss Richard Gould fears the “financial viability” of Test cricket in his country if it is relegated in the proposed two-tier Test structure.

The discussion about divisional Test cricket was raised after the success of the recent five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia.

Gould says England, which plays India and Australia across the next nine months, has already booked its Tests against both nations until 2031.

The two-tier Test structure would be designed to create more regular matches between India, Australia and England, from twice every four years to twice every three.

England finished fifth in the most recent World Test Championship cycle ladder behind Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand.

Gould believes cricket in England would “take a big backwards step” if it fell to the lesser division.

“If you make a move to two divisions, we can’t sit here and arrogantly say ‘well, we can never get relegated’,” Gould told the Final Word Cricket podcast.

“But if you did have any of England, India or Australia playing in the second division, and therefore potentially the ICC saying ‘you can’t play against each other because you’re not in the same division’ – that would have a huge impact on the financial viability on cricket in all three of those countries.

“There are other factors we need to bear in mind, we don’t want to undermine what is great about our game.

“Sometimes as chief exec you have to be the boring one that says ‘yeah, but what if’ and the what if is that if this country is not in the first division then Test match cricket takes a big backwards step for that period.”

England cricket chief executive Richard Gould fears Test cricket would suffer major financial harm if England, India or Australia found themselves in the second tier of the proposed structure. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Gould, who shut down having any direct conversations with the ICC about tiered cricket, understands its benefits but is mindful of how a team becomes ranked in the lesser division.

“If you create two divisions I am not quite sure who goes into the second division to start with,” he said.

“There’s some practical issues there, in terms of Test cricket we have been trying to provide opportunities whether it’s for Zimbabwe or it’s Ireland to play Test cricket.

“Sometimes we have to be careful in terms of avoiding mismatches in sport, whether its Test cricket or its Test rugby, it’s there to create the highest level of competition you possibly can.

“I can see why if you end up with two divisions in Test cricket you make sure you have best playing against best most often.”

Gould later reinforced his view on “mismatches in sport” when asked about Bangladesh’s lack of Tests against England.

“We have to make sure that the best are playing the best,” he said.

“Everybody gets the opportunity to play Test matches, yes, but we have to make sure we avoid mismatches, I am not saying that Bangladesh would be a mismatch.

“It’s not just a case of tick-box exercise, we need to make sure we’re thinking strategically about what cricket we play, when we play it, who we play it against.”

England captain Ben Stokes (L) and coach Brendon McCullum (R) speaks with ICC Match Referee Geoff Crowe after losing to India in 2024. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Prior to England’s bumper five-Test series against India at home, it will host the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa.

England was docked a large sum of points for its poor overrate, which Gould admits he is still “sore” about.

“The most process of how you get there can always be refined, we feel slightly sore in terms of the over rates, there’s no secret about that,” he said.

“Over rates are there allegedly because they protect the enjoyment factor for the supporters.

“A lot of our over rate issues came about because of the last Ashes series, which was the most compelling cricket you could possibly hope for, we think there’s a disconnect there.

“Also there’s regional differences, if you’re in the subcontinent where spinners are bowling a lot of overs, you can whack through them really quickly.

“I was up there at Headingley watching Mark Wood bowling 90-odd mile an hour, whatever it was, and my word every ball counted.

“I think our frustration is it’s not the number of overs you get through, it’s the quality of cricket you play and that’s where we are.”