England are due to tour Bangladesh early next year, and Thompson has made it clear that the ECB has no intention of pulling out of the Test series, despite the considerable financial cost involved.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Thompson said major cricket nations have a responsibility to help sustain Test cricket, especially by touring and playing against smaller Test-playing countries.
“The reality is that we do things that we are not obliged to do, and they cost us a lot of money. For example, we have a tour of Bangladesh coming up, which will cost a huge amount of money, but we have to do it,” he said.
“Bangladesh have shown that they have huge potential by beating Australia. We also flew Zimbabwe over at our own expense to play a Test match,” he added.
Thompson stressed that England’s commitment to playing Test cricket in Bangladesh should not be judged purely on financial returns. According to him, maintaining the heritage and status of the longest format is just as important.
“The key thing is that not everything can be measured in financial terms; values matter too. It is extremely important to value the sanctity of Test cricket,” he said.
The ECB chief also highlighted England’s unique standing in international cricket as the country where Test cricket originated, he believes that position brings with it a responsibility to continue competing against Test nations such as Bangladesh.
