Fearing relegation to a division that doesn't have top rivals, including Australia and India, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is not too keen on the proposed two-tiered World Test Championship (WTC).

The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently formed a working committee, led by former New Zealand batter Roger Twose, to work on bettering the WTC ahead of the next cycle, which begins in July 2027. Among the hot topics discussed at the ICC annual conference in July was the possibility of organising the WTC under a two-tier system. Twose, NZC's representative on the ICC Board, is set to make recommendations to the board.

The debate surrounding two-tier Test cricket has been ongoing for more than 15 years. The ICC first showed its willingness to the idea in 2009, though Full Members have taken contrasting stances on the matter for various reasons.

ECB chairman Richard Thompson spoke on the issue during an interaction with BBC's Test Match Special on the sidelines of the Oval Test between England and India last week.

He expressed concern that the value of bilateral cricket was decreasing because of a "congested" calendar packed with T20 leagues. He sounded circumspect about the two-tier system.

"There's a lot of options that we've got to look at - tiers would be one of them," he said. "We wouldn't want, as England, we may go through a fallow period, and that means, what, we fall into Division Two and we don't play Australia and India? That couldn't happen. There has to be a sense that common sense needs to play out here."

ECB wants the current WTC model to undergo tinkering

According to Thompson, the existing model of the WTC could be modified to make red-ball cricket a more engaging spectacle.

He gave the example of South Africa's win over Australia in the WTC 2023-25 final and said that with the right support, smaller countries could emerge as strong contenders.

"The World Test Championship could work better than it does. It has definitely improved the narrative, [and] it has created a relevance," Thompson said. "Seeing what it meant for South Africa to win - who are crushed by rugby in their own country - and seeing players I know really well, like Graeme Smith, in tears on the outfield, that was a real moment seeing them win. As much as I was critical that they turned up with a 'B' team when they played New Zealand [in 2024], it was still good for the game when the underdog wins.

The two-tier system has been a bone of contention for the majority of the Full Members for various reasons. While some fear a loss of revenue from the ICC's annual distribution of money in the event of relegation, others outrightly reject the idea on an ego basis.

Meanwhile, Todd Greenberg, Cricket Australia's CEO, while keeping an "open mind" on the issue, said the bigger countries should keep smaller countries competitive, including by having a strong first-class system.

"The real challenge here is what role do we all play," Greenberg told SEN Radio. "When I say we, those three countries that [are] putting resources and energy into Test cricket, what role do we have to help others make sure that they step up because it's in our interest to see a strong West Indies, a strong Pakistan, New Zealand, [and] South Africa. We want those countries being strong in this format of the game, but clearly they're going to need help. They can't do it alone. It's incumbent on all of cricket to help."

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"Talking to CEOs of the West Indies and other [boards], when I was with them recently, everyone's got a very open mind to this because they know that we're going to need some level of change to extract value in this part of the game," he added.

(With Inputs from ESPN cricinfo)