Cricket West Indies CEO Johnny Grave has drawn attention to the big three cricket boards: India, England, and Australia, to come together and implement something to prevent Test cricket from losing its importance and also reduce the chances of players disregarding their national duties to play franchise leagues around the world to get big deals.
Johnny Grave expressed his tension over the ICC’s dispersed revenue-sharing model, which is heavily dominated by the BCCI, the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia. He believes the three boards, along with the ICC, must find a way out to help the cricket community around the world and help prevent the decline of cricket boards like those in the West Indies.
He specifically wants to do so after many former cricketers around the world claimed that the West Indies cricket board and South Africa are disrespecting Test cricket by sending weak teams on overseas tours.
While the CSA announced a third-string team for the 2-match Test series in New Zealand, the West Indies sent a young, inexperienced team for their Test series in Australia. Johnny Grave also stated that it is time for the mentality on bilateral series to change for the good of the sport.
Johnny Grave feels ICC’s revenue sharing model is not working
“The revenue sharing model is completely broken. If we operate as a cricket community, we are only as strong as the weakest team and we have to change the mentality of bilateral cricket,” Grave said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
A couple of years ago, Cricket West Indies called for capping international caps for leagues around the world and a small percentage revenue share for cricket boards that send their players. Although it was approved, it did not include the International T20 League in the UAE, Major League Cricket in the US and GT20 in Canada.
And for this reason, Johnny Grave believes that the players were driven by quick money and began to snub domestic cricket. He claimed South Africa needed to create its own national franchise league, the SA20, to generate revenue and help the sport grow in the country.
“If those regulations had been in place, ILT20 wouldn’t have had much of an effect on bilateral cricket because it wouldn’t have had as many international players, it wouldn’t have gotten the broadcast revenue and it wouldn’t have offered the money it is offering,” Grave added.
“Hopefully the South Africa series has woken up the Australian media to the reality of what it’s like to operate Test cricket and unless the boards change the economic model, I don’t think Test cricket will prosper outside of the Three Great,” Grave said. saying. “I don’t think he’s going to die either. But it could and should be much better. If the South African situation can restart sensible conversations about how we position Test cricket, we would thoroughly appreciate it. “To blame South Africa for that would be unfair.”
Johnny Grave criticizes Steve Waugh and reveals Cricket Australia has never helped
Former Australian captain Steve Waugh He was the most vocal personality to speak out against the rise of franchise cricket and said it was the death of Test cricket after South Africa and the West Indies sent weak squads for their Test tours to New Zealand and Australia.
Many former cricketers agreed with that point, but not Johnny Grave, who lashed out at Cricket Australia for not helping West Indies cricket earn a single penny while they have spent more than $2 million.
“What I would say to Steve Waugh is that CWI has spent $2 million supporting Australian cricket in the last four months and we have not received any reimbursement.”
“We have a Test team there, an ODI team and a T20I team, which will cost us over a million dollars in terms of match fees and air tickets. We spend more on airfare than anyone else in the world and we don’t have a TV deal in Australia. “So, Australian broadcasters complaining about the state of the game: what are they doing to support the game in the West Indies?” concluded Johnny Grave.
