Arguably Michael Holding was one of deadliest bowlers of all time that West Indies had produced. (Source: ICC)
Former West Indies seamer Michael Holding has deemed the World Test Championship’s points system as “ridiculous” and stated that it doesn’t work in the long run.
The Test Championship was launched by the ICC in 2019 to make bilateral Test series more meaningful. It culminates with a final at Lord’s next June between the two teams who remain at the top of the points table.
However, according to Holding this system is not the answer to make Test cricket more interesting and relevant.
“It doesn’t work,” Holding told the Wisden Cricket Monthly.
“First of all the points system is ridiculous. You can’t play five Test matches and get the same amount of points if you play two Test matches,” he explained.
“And secondly, at some point you’re going to have teams who know they cannot get to the final and so those Test matches aren’t going to be all that entertaining. People know it’s just another game,” he added.
England seamer Chris Woakes who was also a part of the discussion shared his thoughts and said: “The New Zealand series [England lost 1-0 away to the Black Caps last winter] wasn’t part of the World Test Championship but that defeat didn’t affect us any less as players.”
“I think the system might need a bit of tinkering with in the future. Anyone can turn someone over in a one-off final, depending on the toss or conditions. If there was more time in the calendar they could do a three-match final but unfortunately there just isn’t.”
Holding’s tryst with ICC
A well-known commentator for three decades, Holding, has lashed out at the International Cricket Council (ICC) on previous occasions as well.
In 2019, when the ICC asked commentators to restrain themselves and avoid pointing out the errors of umpires on air during the ongoing World Cup, he said: “If those umpires yesterday were FIFA officials, they would have been told to pack their bags and head home.”
“They would not have been given another World Cup game to officiate. As a former cricketer, I think cricket should be held to a higher standard. Is the objective to protect the umpires even when they do a bad job?”
“I am sorry, but I am not going to be part of that. Please let me know if I should be heading back to my home in Newmarket instead of heading to Cardiff because I don’t agree with what is being suggested here and happy not being part of it,” he had further added: