The International Cricket Council (ICC), the world governing body of the sport, is juggling with the idea of a two-tier World Test Championship (WTC).
While this idea has been part of the conscience of the cricketing community as a whole, former and inaugural WTC-winning captain, Kane Williamson of New Zealand, has also spoken in favour of the format, but is also apprehensive about the challenges that it might throw.
"The concern with a potential two-tier system is how teams in the second tier can continue to improve and work their way up to the top division,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Williamson as saying on the sidelines of the CEAT Awards in Mumbai.
"The Test format needs greater importance placed on it by all playing nations, along with additional resources to support its growth. As a passionate supporter of Test cricket, I would love to see it thrive,” he added.
Williamson acknowledged that hosting three or more matches in a Test series is hard for boards that are unable to generate income and sponsorship from those games.
"Organising three- or four-match Test series is difficult commercially, making it hard for boards to support. However, the Test Championship has helped provide context, leading to more results and making the competition meaningful for teams,” suggested the 35-year-old.
Now that he plays for New Zealand in very few matches, having let go of a central contract as well, Williamson feels that the best memory of the country as a whole in Test cricket would not be the WTC mace-winning moment, but rather a 3-0 sweep of India in India.
"I believe our achievement in a three-Test series in India stands as probably our finest accomplishment as a Test-playing nation. As we have witnessed over the years, competing – and especially winning – here is a major challenge. What the New Zealand team accomplished was remarkable and is undoubtedly a standout highlight in the history of our game,” he said.
Despite not being able to get too many Tests per year as compared to the likes of Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Steve Smith, Williamson still boasts the second-best average in the Fab Four, averaging 54 and nearing 10,000 Test runs.
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