"I don't know if US $15 million a year will make any difference to anything" - Outgoing CWI CEO Johnny Grave on ICC's planned Test fund
Outgoing Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Johnny Grave does not feel that the International Cricket Council's (ICC) ambitious Test fund will have any impact on the format's health. One of the major changes that newly elected chairman, Jay Shah, wishes to impose is the sustenance of Test cricket, for which a $15 million fund has been proposed, with the approval of the 'Big Three.'
The fund aims to reinforce Test cricket in nations outside the big three to bring a bit of balance against the current lopsided state. The initiative was initially driven by Cricket Australia's (CA) chairman Mark Baird, and got support from the England Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
There is also a provision in the planned central fund, which rewards players with a $10,000 match fee per appearance.
Although Grave appreciated the gesture driven by the heavyweights, he feels that the money will not make any difference to Test cricket's state.
"Cricket as a game needs to think much more as a league and needs to understand everyone's business models a bit better. I think there are some positive noises from the Big 3, I think the Test fund was a good initiative. I don't know if US $15 million a year will make any difference to anything," Grave said on the TalkSport podcast.
Grave further revealed that the match fee sum offered according to the central fund is only as much as Cricket West Indies are offering currently.
"I think the idea of paying a Test fee of US $10,000 is not even window dressing. We pay our players US $10,000. So, I sort of smiled when I saw that come out in the press. I thought, 'how is it going to change cricket and how's that going to be saviour of Test cricket when our players are already getting paid that?' It's not going to make any difference to us," he added.
Johnny Grave will step down from his role as CWI CEO in October 2024 after being seven years in charge.
"We welcome the slight change in mindset which is the Big 3 can't just play against themselves" - Johnny Grave
Graves feels that more red-ball cricket in the calendar for the senior team as well as shadow tours, might prove to be more beneficiary than the Test fund. He lamented the recurring two-match Test affairs, with only the Big Three playing dedicated Test series exceeding three matches.
West Indies recently played a three-match away series against England. Although they suffered a 0-3 whitewash, they were able to stay competitive, particularly as the series progressed.
"What will make a difference, in my opinion, to improve West Indies Test cricket is by playing more three-match series rather than two-match series, by having dedicated Test windows where you're not competing against franchise opportunities, or actually supporting our 'A' team programmes. We've really struggled to get 'A' team tours," Grave said.
While Johnny Grave admitted that the Test fund is not even close to an answer to save the format, he certainly welcomed the Big Three's line of thinking and hopes that it leads to better things in the future.
"I welcome the debate and I'm not saying that I or we at West Indies cricket have all the answers, but we welcome the debate, we welcome the slight change in mindset which is the Big 3 can't just play against themselves, they've got to have a stronger opposition," he concluded.
The series against England marked the sole three-Test affair for the West Indies in the current WTC cycle.