'We need to get a better share of the pie because we were the cash cows for a long time.'
Cricket legend Clive Lloyd expressed his apprehensions about the much-debated two-tier system for the ICC World Test Championship, saying that the team is 'just two years out of being in that group for 100 years' after Cricket West Indies's emergency meeting involving the team's past legends.
Cricket West Indies Chief Executive Chris Dehring expressed doubt about the Caribbean cricket board having an equal share and a say at the table if the two-tier World Test Championship system comes into being.
'We have to just stay abreast as close as possible to all the changes that could happen, position ourselves, hedging our bets so to speak, to make sure we are in there as West Indies cricket, no matter which way the wind blows and try to take advantage of it,' Dehring said.
The emergency meeting took place following last month's debacle when the West Indies were skittled out for 27, the second-lowest Test total, against Australia.
Lloyd, invited to the meeting along with fellow legends Viv Richards, Brian Lara and others, pointed to the share of International Cricket Council money that member boards are given.
'We have to look at what is happening at the ICC with the shareout of the money. India, Australia and England get $180 million and the West Indies will get $80 million like Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and we are just two years out of being in that group for 100 years,' Lloyd said.
'To me, it is not right. We have to stand up. We have to go to the ICC and ask for special dispensation. Because when we were in the ascendancy, and we were playing so well, everyone wanted to play with us.'
'We were playing Australia very often, with England very often, and when we went to Pakistan or India, getting millions of people (to the grounds).
'We need to get a better share of the pie because we were the cash cows for a long time. And we need to get some of that. I am hoping the board follows up on that recommendation where we can be adequately given the money that is needed,' he concluded.
The West Indies are losing a massive pool of talented players to the lure of cash-rich franchise cricket leagues. These players refrain from signing contracts with the West Indies board for shortage of pay compared to franchise cricket.
Last month, the ICC formed a working group, led by former New Zealand cricketer Roger Twose, to look into, among many things, improving the WTC ahead of the 2025-2027 cycle.
A two-tier system for the same was discussed significantly during the body's annual conference in July. Twose, the New Zealand Cricket representative on the ICC board, is expected to make recommendations to the board.
The debate about a two-tier WTC has been around even before the WTC was a proper league-based tournament with a title clash. This topic has proven to be a divisive one among full members of the ICC who enjoy the privilege of playing Tests.
In 2016, when the two-tier system was first proposed by the ICC, the BCCI was vocal in its opposition to the change.
In all WTC campaigns so far, the West Indies finished eighth out of nine teams, having notched just 10 wins across these three editions in 39 Tests, losing 23 and drawing six.
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