Former England captain Andrew Strauss has said the skewed distribution of power among the India-led big three in ICC can lead to a situation in future when the “rich will only get richer and the poor poorer”.
Following the revamp in ICC, India, England and Australia now effectively runs the games’s apex body with the Asian giant being the wealthiest of the three boards on account of the massive interest cricket generates in the country.
“India can argue that they bring the most money into the game, and thus deserve more out of the precious ICC broadcasting rights, but skewing the distribution of the three boards that are already the most financially secure can only create a situation in which the rich get richer and poor poorer,” Strauss said.
Strauss made his prediction in the upgraded paperback edition of his autobiography, ‘Driving Ambition’, published on Thursday. Strauss feared that the Test cricket could “fizzle out” in the face of competition from T20 tournaments such as the Indian Premier league.
“With only 10 teams playing Test cricket and four of those already struggling to stay competitive, the risk of the game degenerating to the extent that the result of many Test series is a foregone conclusion is both high and real,” Strauss wrote.
Strauss added: “I can’t help feeling that we have already reached the tipping point as far as Test cricket is concerned. The teams will keep playing each other over the next eight years, but aside from iconic series like the Ashes or England v India, I fear that the game is slowly going to fizzle out as a mainstream attraction, especially away from the ‘'big three’ nations.”