Outside Edge: Test divisions could benefit the game outside strongholds

It is relatively hard these days to find people who believe the County Championship has not been improved by its switch to a two division structure at the turn of the century.

Some will say the competition was better in its 60s heyday – but that’s an unfair comparison.

Is the Championship a more cogent proposition now that it was in 1999? Surely, yes.

Average crowds may still be fairly small and some clubs struggle to shake off the tag of also-rans.

But generally speaking competition is tougher, especially in Division One, and there are fewer meaningless fixtures.

Even so, plans by the International Cricket Council to introduce a system of promotion and relegation in the Test arena – potentially as soon as 2019 – will be controversial.

For the established test nations, the prospect of being stuck in Division Two with the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan is unlikely to be particularly attractive.

Playing five day cricket against the United Arab Emirates may not exactly be the fillip to Test cricket that the West Indies, for instance, requires.

Nonetheless, the ICC’s chief executive, Dave Richardson, has a point when he says that interest in test cricket will “continue to waver” if it is not imbued with greater meaning.

In England that may seem a distant possibility – but matches abroad are frequently played in more or less empty stadiums.

Bilateral series just don’t have the necessary kudos to bring time-poor spectators though the gates.

The advantages of a divisional structure are two-fold: first, it will offer a route into Test cricket for the ICC’s associate nations.

Ireland, most obviously, look well-equipped to be given a chance in the game’s longest form and their players will welcome the proposals.

Secondly, if the established nations are scrapping for a champion’s crown, or to avoid relegation, matches will be played within a more competitive framework.

That all sounds rather good.

There are difficulties though.

From any number of perspectives, it will still make sense for two countries to play series of matches against one another, rather than one-offs.

We will not be seeing every side play every other home and away over the course of a season in other words.

Each cycle of the competition will take a couple of years – as if Test cricket didn’t require enough patience already.

We are already in the midst of another trial this summer – the Super Series – with England currently 8-0 up against Sri Lanka with 16 points still to play for.

Again, the aim is to provide more meaning, more ‘context’. Thus far, the experiment has provoked more derision than excitement.

Day-night tests have also become a reality, albeit with mixed reviews after the inaugural contest between Australia and New Zealand last year.

There the aim is to make the fabric of a single game more attractive – played at a time that is a better fit with the working day and with the razzmatazz that accompanies any fixture under lights.

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But would it work on a cold May night in Durham?

There is something of an irony in all this innovation, in that it is more frequently backed by those countries where the tradition of Test cricket arguably remains strongest: England, Australia, New Zealand.

India, remember, is still unconvinced by DRS.

In places where innovation is most needed, cricketing authorities seem less interested in it.

Test matches can be the most remarkable sporting occasions.

But we cannot ignore declining interest outside its strongholds.

For that reason alone, the ICC’s proposals deserve support, especially if it means an expansion to the number of test playing nations.

In the absence of a better idea, perhaps we can call the new Test championship the Super-Duper Series.

As counties look for ever more novel ways to bring in the cash, it comes to my attention that Essex CCC now runs movie nights at its Chelmsford HQ.

This summer, its ‘On-Pitch Cinema’ is offering a screening of the 1987 classic, Dirty Dancing, on 6 August.

Given the propensity of cricketers to pop up on Strictly Come Dancing, there is perhaps some sense to the choice of film.

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There is also something of the 12th man about the character of Baby, who was handy enough with the snacks that she famously “carried a watermelon”.

What could be better during a drinks break on a hot day?