Could a two-tier system save Test cricket from itself?
17.10.25, 17:44 Updated 17.10.25, 17:44
Since the year 2000, West Indies have played 88 Test series and won just 21 of them, a win percentage of 24%. Dive deeper into the stats and you’ll find that only 7 of those 21 wins were against teams that weren’t called Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, or Bangladesh. To put it another way, West Indies have not won a Test series against Australia or South Africa in the 21st century. Let that sink in.
Of their 67 series losses, 23 were whitewashes, and more damningly, if you look at Test matches away from the Caribbean, West Indies have only won 19 of the 122 they’ve played.
I could go on, but the point should already be clear.
In any other team sport, if those stats were presented to you, you would assume you were looking at a lower-division side or a team in absolute freefall and heading for relegation. But this team is playing in the top tier and is in no danger of relegation. Nor will they face any consequences for a quarter of a century of substandard performance.
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