One of the brightest performers of the 2011 World Cup have been knocked out from the 2015 edition without a ball being bowled thanks to a bizarre ICC move that completely defies logic. And it also threatens to bring ‘caste system’ to the game of cricket. If Ireland Cricket Board is fuming, they have 101 reasons to do so
Fastest hundred in World Cup history
The best ever chase in World Cup history to beat Ashes champions
Sorry Ireland. That's just not good enough. Your lion-hearted performance in the 2011 World Cup certainly took the game of cricket a few rungs higher and was seen as helping ICC's pursuit of globalising the game. But, with a silly and bizarre decision that is completely unwarranted and out of place, the ICC has quietly kicked you out of World Cup 2015 for no fault of yours.
It was a nasty shock for Irish cricketers and fans in one of the fastest growing cricket nations when the International Cricket Council confirmed that the next World Cup will only have Full Member countries and will not include Associate Members. The move has sent shockwaves across the international cricket community comprising of Affiliate and Associate Teams, especially that of Ireland and the Netherlands.
While the decision completes defies logic, it also threatens to take the game several steps behind. Why the ICC would want to do such a thing after a reasonable success of Affiliate and Associate teams in the 2011 World Cup is beyond baffling.
ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat justifies the ICC move by saying, "We have always wanted to try to be as compact as possible. That is not the only reason why 2015 World Cup will be a 10-team event. We also believe that in 50-over cricket, there are 10 teams that will make for good competition. That is part of the reason as well."
Join the discussion
Is it extremely unfair on the part of ICC to drop teams like Ireland and Netherlands for the 2105 WorldCup?
A. Yes. ICC has made a big blunder
B. No. ICC has done the right thing to keep World Cup exciting throughout
C. Can't say. Only time will answer
Ireland cricket Chief: Ashamed to be a part of ICC mechanism
ICC's decision has been met with sharp criticism by the bosses of cricket boards in Affiliate and Associate countries. Some have called it outrageous while the others have even gone to the extent of terming it 'disgraceful'.
The current crisis traces its roots to January and early February this year when the ICC was slammed by critics who were very unhappy with the format of the 2011 tournament. The dominant feeling then was that the format coupled with the presence of Associate Members had killed the group stages. The big problem was not the presence of Associate teams but the format, which allowed for four teams in a group of seven to go through to knockout rounds.
Under fire, ICC quickly considered proposals to ensure that such criticism never repeated itself and one of the ideas discussed was to prune the number of teams to 10. This was arrived upon even before the 2011 World Cup commenced. But, with the 2011 World Cup certainly confirming that teams like Ireland and Netherlands have made more than considerable progress, the ICC ought to have reconsidered the move rather than confirming it after a joke of a meeting in Mumbai.
What has added fuel to the fire is the attitude of Cricket Australia in this whole drama. They have come out openly backing the decision of the ICC to ban smaller nations from the next World Cup, which they would be jointly hosting with New Zealand.
Cricket Australia Chief James Sutherland was quoted in the Australian press as saying, "The decision to go to a 10 team competition is something we're very supportive of. In a format sense, we have seen that 14 teams doesn't work, we have seen 16 teams in the past doesn't work. We believe 10 teams will be a really good format for the event."
ICC's ratification has been met with very sharp reaction especially from Ireland and Netherlands. Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom was quoted as saying in the Belfast Telegraph, "there was an opportunity to do what was right for the sport and not to do something based purely on the satisfaction of the Full Members. The decision taken satisfies no reasonable sporting principle. It is absolutely disgraceful and I'm ashamed to be part of the ICC mechanism today.
Ireland captain William Porterfield was even sharper with his words. "I don't know what else we had to do in the World Cup, we held our own against the full members, we beat England, we got the fastest ever hundred. For them to turn around and throw that back in our face a few weeks later is an absolute joke."
Join the discussion
Is it extremely unfair on the part of ICC to drop teams like Ireland and Netherlands for the 2105 WorldCup?
A. Yes. ICC has made a big blunder
B. No. ICC has done the right thing to keep World Cup exciting throughout
C. Can't say. Only time will answer
ICC should follow EPL promotion format
The reaction has been quite sharp in Netherlands too. Remember, if Ireland provided the X factor to World Cup 2011, the Dutch weren't too far behind. They had given England a run for money while also coming out with creditable performances against India and Ireland.
Sources indicate that the ICC wanted to bring back the round-robin league format, which was first used in 1992 when the World Cup competition moved down under for the first time ever. No doubt it was the best format ever in World Cup history.
Agreed reducing the number of teams to 10 vastly increases the competitive edge to an event like the World Cup but the same could have been done meticulously. The ICC simply needs to take a leaf out of the English premier league football and how promotions are handled there. Each year, there are three teams that get relegated from the top flight to second division while 3 new teams make it to the top division from 2nd division. While promotion happens, the top two teams get automatic promotion while the teams placed 3,4,5 and 6 will all battle it out for the 3rd spot. Now, the ICC could have exactly done the same for the 2015 World Cup while also meeting its goal of keeping the tournament competitive with just 10 teams.
Out of the 10 Full Members, top 8 ranked teams should have been given automatic qualification. The bottom two teams should fight it out with 1 best affiliate team and 1 best associate team for the final two slots. The same can happen in the form of a playoff tournament in a neutral venue. Doing this would serve two purposes. One, of making cricket more competitive among the smaller nations and two, ensuring the World Cup tournament itself would have very competitive.
Given the serious backlash, the ICC would do well to review this immediately as the only good news for the smaller nations is the availability of time. The next World Cup event is 4 years away and that effectively means the ICC can chart out a solution to the whole crisis, which is why this is something that can still be worked out. The ICC can work out the modalities for the same in just a week. Given the availability of so much time, this should be a cakewalk if only they have the will to do so. Hope the ICC is listening!
Join the discussion
Is it extremely unfair on the part of ICC to drop teams like Ireland and Netherlands for the 2105 World Cup?
A. Yes. ICC has made a big blunder
B. No. ICC has done the right thing to keep World Cup exciting throughout
C. Can't say. Only time will answer
Fastest hundred in World Cup history
The best ever chase in World Cup history to beat Ashes champions
Sorry Ireland. That's just not good enough. Your lion-hearted performance in the 2011 World Cup certainly took the game of cricket a few rungs higher and was seen as helping ICC's pursuit of globalising the game. But, with a silly and bizarre decision that is completely unwarranted and out of place, the ICC has quietly kicked you out of World Cup 2015 for no fault of yours.
It was a nasty shock for Irish cricketers and fans in one of the fastest growing cricket nations when the International Cricket Council confirmed that the next World Cup will only have Full Member countries and will not include Associate Members. The move has sent shockwaves across the international cricket community comprising of Affiliate and Associate Teams, especially that of Ireland and the Netherlands.
While the decision completes defies logic, it also threatens to take the game several steps behind. Why the ICC would want to do such a thing after a reasonable success of Affiliate and Associate teams in the 2011 World Cup is beyond baffling.
ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat justifies the ICC move by saying, "We have always wanted to try to be as compact as possible. That is not the only reason why 2015 World Cup will be a 10-team event. We also believe that in 50-over cricket, there are 10 teams that will make for good competition. That is part of the reason as well."
Join the discussion
Is it extremely unfair on the part of ICC to drop teams like Ireland and Netherlands for the 2105 WorldCup?
A. Yes. ICC has made a big blunder
B. No. ICC has done the right thing to keep World Cup exciting throughout
C. Can't say. Only time will answer
Ireland cricket Chief: Ashamed to be a part of ICC mechanism
ICC's decision has been met with sharp criticism by the bosses of cricket boards in Affiliate and Associate countries. Some have called it outrageous while the others have even gone to the extent of terming it 'disgraceful'.
The current crisis traces its roots to January and early February this year when the ICC was slammed by critics who were very unhappy with the format of the 2011 tournament. The dominant feeling then was that the format coupled with the presence of Associate Members had killed the group stages. The big problem was not the presence of Associate teams but the format, which allowed for four teams in a group of seven to go through to knockout rounds.
Under fire, ICC quickly considered proposals to ensure that such criticism never repeated itself and one of the ideas discussed was to prune the number of teams to 10. This was arrived upon even before the 2011 World Cup commenced. But, with the 2011 World Cup certainly confirming that teams like Ireland and Netherlands have made more than considerable progress, the ICC ought to have reconsidered the move rather than confirming it after a joke of a meeting in Mumbai.
What has added fuel to the fire is the attitude of Cricket Australia in this whole drama. They have come out openly backing the decision of the ICC to ban smaller nations from the next World Cup, which they would be jointly hosting with New Zealand.
Cricket Australia Chief James Sutherland was quoted in the Australian press as saying, "The decision to go to a 10 team competition is something we're very supportive of. In a format sense, we have seen that 14 teams doesn't work, we have seen 16 teams in the past doesn't work. We believe 10 teams will be a really good format for the event."
ICC's ratification has been met with very sharp reaction especially from Ireland and Netherlands. Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom was quoted as saying in the Belfast Telegraph, "there was an opportunity to do what was right for the sport and not to do something based purely on the satisfaction of the Full Members. The decision taken satisfies no reasonable sporting principle. It is absolutely disgraceful and I'm ashamed to be part of the ICC mechanism today.
Ireland captain William Porterfield was even sharper with his words. "I don't know what else we had to do in the World Cup, we held our own against the full members, we beat England, we got the fastest ever hundred. For them to turn around and throw that back in our face a few weeks later is an absolute joke."
Join the discussion
Is it extremely unfair on the part of ICC to drop teams like Ireland and Netherlands for the 2105 WorldCup?
A. Yes. ICC has made a big blunder
B. No. ICC has done the right thing to keep World Cup exciting throughout
C. Can't say. Only time will answer
ICC should follow EPL promotion format
The reaction has been quite sharp in Netherlands too. Remember, if Ireland provided the X factor to World Cup 2011, the Dutch weren't too far behind. They had given England a run for money while also coming out with creditable performances against India and Ireland.
Sources indicate that the ICC wanted to bring back the round-robin league format, which was first used in 1992 when the World Cup competition moved down under for the first time ever. No doubt it was the best format ever in World Cup history.
Agreed reducing the number of teams to 10 vastly increases the competitive edge to an event like the World Cup but the same could have been done meticulously. The ICC simply needs to take a leaf out of the English premier league football and how promotions are handled there. Each year, there are three teams that get relegated from the top flight to second division while 3 new teams make it to the top division from 2nd division. While promotion happens, the top two teams get automatic promotion while the teams placed 3,4,5 and 6 will all battle it out for the 3rd spot. Now, the ICC could have exactly done the same for the 2015 World Cup while also meeting its goal of keeping the tournament competitive with just 10 teams.
Out of the 10 Full Members, top 8 ranked teams should have been given automatic qualification. The bottom two teams should fight it out with 1 best affiliate team and 1 best associate team for the final two slots. The same can happen in the form of a playoff tournament in a neutral venue. Doing this would serve two purposes. One, of making cricket more competitive among the smaller nations and two, ensuring the World Cup tournament itself would have very competitive.
Given the serious backlash, the ICC would do well to review this immediately as the only good news for the smaller nations is the availability of time. The next World Cup event is 4 years away and that effectively means the ICC can chart out a solution to the whole crisis, which is why this is something that can still be worked out. The ICC can work out the modalities for the same in just a week. Given the availability of so much time, this should be a cakewalk if only they have the will to do so. Hope the ICC is listening!
Join the discussion
Is it extremely unfair on the part of ICC to drop teams like Ireland and Netherlands for the 2105 World Cup?
A. Yes. ICC has made a big blunder
B. No. ICC has done the right thing to keep World Cup exciting throughout
C. Can't say. Only time will answer
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