The West Indies will remain among cricket’s elite in the next World Test Championship cycle, after the International Cricket Council (ICC) shelved plans to introduce a two-tier system that could have placed the Caribbean side in a lower division.

The latest development follows recommendations presented to the ICC Board and Chief Executives’ Committee during last week’s quarterly meetings in Dubai. A working group, formed at the ICC’s annual conference in July, was tasked with addressing challenges across the game’s three formats and revisiting the long-debated proposal for a two-tier Test structure.

That proposal — which has surfaced periodically for more than a decade — failed once again to gain the necessary support. Central to its collapse were concerns over the viability of a funding model and the potential impact on competitive balance.

It had been suggested that the sport’s financial heavyweights — India, England and Australia — could provide funding to support nations placed in a second division. However, those talks did not progress, while countries likely to be relegated to the lower tier, such as West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, strongly opposed the plan. Their objections focused on the reduced opportunities to face top-tier opponents and the likely decline in revenues and exposure.

Promotion and relegation also proved a sticking point, with the so-called “Big Three” nations wary of the financial risks associated with dropping out of the top division.

As a result, the working group has instead proposed a single-division, 12-team World Test Championship for the next cycle, set to begin in July 2027. The expanded format could see Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland join the existing lineup of nine full members.

Under the proposal, all 12 teams would be required to play a minimum number of Tests during the cycle, ensuring regular participation and preserving the global status of Test cricket.

The ICC Board is expected to debate these issues at the next ICC meetings early next year.