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ICC’s move to take cricket backwards

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

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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."

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