West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite says he “fully understood” why Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers had opted out of the Test tour to Australia, and that he would like to see West Indies get the chance to play more Test matches to inspire youngsters in the Caribbean to play long-form cricket.

Meanwhile, Australia captain Pat Cummins believes there is no “silver bullet” to bridge the divide between the haves and have-nots in Test cricket as the full-strength Test world champions prepare to host an inexperienced West Indies side shorn of some of their best cricketers, who are currently playing franchise T20 cricket.

West Indies are set to field three debutants for the first Test against Australia in Adelaide and seven players with less than 15 Tests’ experience between them against an Australian side whose two most inexperienced players have played more Test cricket than eight of the West Indies XI. The series comes before South Africa field a severely understrength squad for two Tests in New Zealand, with Cricket South Africa retaining their best Test players to play in the SA20.

West Indies are without Holder and Mayers for the Australia series after both turned down central contracts to be available to play franchise cricket. Nicholas Pooran also turned down a central deal and has never played Test cricket for West Indies.

“I can’t make a decision for the guys,” Brathwaite said. “I fully understood why they made their decision and it’s solely up to them. As West Indies, we don’t get many Tests matches, that’s one [issue]. So more Test matches will be great for us. Obviously last year we only had six games. I think if we get more, we play more cricket, I think that would help a lot.

“And obviously incentivising Test cricket is always great. Because T20 cricket is out there. T10 cricket is out there. So it will always be tough. But I believe the more cricket we play the better, and also for aspiring youngsters in the Caribbean, if we play Test cricket and we as West Indians do well, they grow up seeing it and that will help inspire them to want to play for West Indies.

“But if they don’t see it, they’ll be inspired to want to play what they see, which is the T20s and T10s around the world.”

The issue for West Indies runs deeper than scheduling. There is a clear financial cost for West Indies players if they prioritise Test cricket over T20 leagues. It is understood that West Indies central contracts range between US$100,000 and US$150,000, with players earning approximately US$5000 per Test in match fees. But only six Tests in a year means they stand to earn just US$30,000 in match payments.

Mayers is believed to be earning upwards of US$250,000 to play in the SA20 this year for a one-month tournament, and then there is his IPL deal worth nearly $60,000.

Australia’s lowest central contract is US$225,000 although the vast majority, if not all, of Australia’s Test XI, would be earning more than US$600,000. Australia play ten Test matches in the financial year that runs between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, having played 13 in the previous financial year. Australia’s players earn approximately US$12,500 per Test match, meaning they have the chance to earn as much in match payments alone, on top of their central contracts, as the West Indies players do from their base contracts.

Australia’s Test players are also allowed to play in the IPL under no-objection clauses as Cricket Australia does not schedule international cricket during the IPL. Australia’s selectors also manage their multi-format players and allow them to rest from bilateral white-ball series. They never rest for Test matches but players are not forced to rest from the IPL and are free to play to maximise their earnings even with the risk of injury. Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green all have multi-million-dollar IPL deals on top of their CA contracts but are not forced to choose between playing for club or country.

Cummins said he wants to see the primacy of Test cricket maintained but he understands there is no magic solution to the problem.

“As a Test-cricket lover, I’d hope that you field your strongest side whatever country whatever time of year, but it’s not the case,” Cummins said. “So you can’t force anyone out on the field. Each country is in a different position.

“It’s challenging. I haven’t heard of one silver bullet yet. But I wish there was one.”