West Indies cricket chiefs have vowed they will fight any atte-mpts to reduce their team to that of a ‘second-tier’ Test match nation when the Executive Board of the International Cricket Council meets at the governing body’s Dubai headquarters next week.

The West Indies Cricket Board are also worried about the impact of the Indian Premier League, which starts next month, set to take place while Sri Lanka and Australia are touring the Caribbean.

One plan being mooted to increase the competitiveness of Test cricket would see the top seven nations cut off from the bottom three with promotion and relegation between the two groups.

Under the current ra-nkings, that would see West Indies, who’ve declined dramatically since the likes of Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Malco-lm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose helped make th-em Test cricket’s leading team from the mid-1970s to the start of the 1990s and a popular draw with fans around the world, with just Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to play in the five-day format.

“The WICB will never allow this to happen,” WICB president Julian Hunte insisted in a statement from their Antigua offices. “In most of the cricket playing countries of the world, we are the team they like most after their national team. However, we have to use this as motivation to get back to the top of world cricket. Our players must be mindful of this when they go out to play since if our standing in world cricket does not improve, we might find our options and opportunities severely limited.”

Hunte also voiced fea-rs about the consequenc-es of the IPL. “We are de-eply concerned about the future impact of leagues like the IPL on our cricket, particularly when the-ir seasons are in direct competition with our tou-rs or domestic season.”