Bangladesh happy as two-tier Test plan shelved

Dhaka, Sep 8 (IANS) Bangladesh has heaved a sigh of relief at the International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision to put the proposal for a two-tier Test structure "off the table" and the country's future in Test cricket is "not heading for uncertainty".

The game's governing body withdrew the proposal in an ICC meeting in Dubai on Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

Reports on Wednesday said India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had opposed the proposal which had found support from the boards of Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and the West Indies.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) took a stand against the proposal which suggested Tests in two tiers -- teams ranked in top seven in one and the following five in the other -- and considered promotion and relegation between the two.

"This is indeed great news," BCB President Nazmul Hassan said late on Wednesday.

"We were convinced it won't be something good. We protested against the proposal from the beginning. We are very happy that they announced it officially today. The future of Bangladesh cricket is not heading towards uncertainty."

Hassan believes BCCI's stand against the proposal was a determining factor for the withdrawal.

"Actually we were not too worried. My first impression was that it won't be possible to implement the system. Because it gives us no specific advantage -- then why should we agree?"

"It couldn't even be passed over from the CEC (Chief Executives Committee) meeting to the board meeting and when India came over (to our side), I was no longer too much worried about it."