All countries need not play Tests, scarcity is Test cricket''s friend: Greenberg

Melbourne, Aug 13 (PTI) Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg feels not all nations need to aspire to play Tests, given the financial burden it places on some of the weaker boards and said while there is no definitive number of Test-playing countries, "scarcity in Test cricket is our friend, not our foe." Australia, which hosted a record-breaking Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the 2024-25 season, is set to welcome England for the Ashes later this year.

Earlier this month, India and England concluded a highly competitive five-Test series, while Australia and New Zealand recorded lopsided victories against the West Indies and Zimbabwe respectively — outcomes that have reignited debate about the global structure of red-ball cricket.

"I don’t think there is a right number (of Test playing nations) … but I think in the future scarcity in Test cricket is our friend, not our foe,” Greenberg told reporters.

"What I mean by that is, I don’t think everyone in world cricket needs to aspire to play Test cricket and that might be OK.

"A lot of traditionalists might not like that (and) I’m not suggesting I know the number that will play, but literally we’re trying to send countries bankrupt if we force them to play Test cricket." Emphasising the need for meaningful competition, he said: "We need to make sure we invest in the right spaces, play Test cricket where it means something and has jeopardy.

"That’s why the Ashes will be as enormous and as profitable as it is because it means something … it means something to every player.

"We’ve got to make sure when we play Test cricket that’s at the top of our mind.” The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently formed a working group to examine the Test format, and Greenberg expressed his willingness to consider new models, including a two-tier system.

"I’ve got an open mind to that question because I don’t know the details to what a two-tiered structure would look like,” he said.

"Test cricket needs an injection of capital and an injection of resources because it can’t just be about Australia, India and England – it needs to be bigger than that.

"Red-ball cricket in this country, and in England and in India, is unbelievably successful but it’s not like that in all parts of the world.

"It’s incumbent on us to make sure we play our part to help, so the concept of tiers I think needs to be explored. I’m not prepared to say we’re against something until we see all the details," he noted. PTI ATK UNG