Why ICC is not supporting World Peace!

~ Alok Singhal

I am crazy about Cricket and would love to see the likes of Afghanistan, Ireland, Hong Kong, Scotland, and other such smaller nations play Cricket more often at the world stage. Collectively, such teams who have not yet qualified for Full Membership are known as the Associate Teams (as opposed to the full member nations like India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and others – totaling 10) by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

icc cricket

In the World T20 tournament that started a couple of days back, the six associate members (who qualified through the 2015 ICC World T20 Qualifier) are playing amongst themselves and Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to quality for the 2 slots available at the Super 10 stage (8 full members have already qualified per their ranking as of 30 April 2014, while Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are battling at the Group Stage with the associates).

Here’s the layout of the tournament:

First Round

Group A – Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, Oman

Group B – Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Super 10 (Group 1) – England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Group B Winner

Super 10 (Group 2) – Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Group A Winner

Considering Bangladesh defeated India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe in the ODI series last year and finished runners-up in the Asia Cup that concluded few days back, it would be so unfair to see them go out, if they do! Ireland and Netherlands too are not far behind in terms of competitiveness. So, it is really difficult to pick one clear winner between them…with a heavy heart I would pick Bangladesh. Same situation applies to Group B with Zimbabwe and Afghanistan doing quite well. Since only one team will qualify from each group in the First Round to Super 10, I think either of Bangladesh or Ireland will make it from Group A and Afghanistan or Zimbabwe from Group B, though they all have been proving their worth since long!

Let’s talk about Afghanistan. They have been playing splendid Cricket and yet have to fight so hard to quality for the only slot from their group. In the last year’s World Cup (WC), I saw a kid in Afghanistan glued to the television and cheering for his team. It was so heart-warming, a sight to die for in a war-ravaged country. Two days back, in Canada, the Afghan soldiers (they are there as part of exchange programme) requested their boss for a day off to support their team.

Shouldn’t ICC make it easier for Afghanistan to go through, by having at least 12 teams play in the Super 10 stage? Yes…most of us would agree! To me, that would be a step towards supporting world peace. But with Zimbabwe in the group, it might be difficult for them. And, how on earth are Pakistan and West Indies playing better than some of these associates…they have been so terrible in the last many years!

I would have liked to have 2 teams qualify from each Group to next stage, but ICC seems to have been cutting down on associates getting more chances to play with the full member nations. Such heart wrenching! In the next ODI WC to be held in England and Wales in 2019, only 10 teams would participate as opposed to 14 that did in 2015 WC. So, many associates would not even get to play (they’ll would go through a qualifier amongst themselves in 2018).

Such a disaster for the so-called ‘world’ cups! Blame it on the ICC and its management!

Pic sourced from here

45 thoughts on “Why ICC is not supporting World Peace!”

  1. Well yes, at least the 50 Over WC deserves to have 12..14 maybe too much I feel. But as far as the T20 version I think 12 teams instead of 10 would have been better, taking into consideration the fickle nature of the game…1 over and the game can change, the associate teams having a better chance to upset the big guns of the game.
    Pakistan & West Indies…what can I say?

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    1. Well, Netherlands are out today because of a wash-out! So frustrating…they were beaten in first match by Bangladesh by just 8 runs and are already on their way back home.

      Such cruelty with them!

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      1. Yes sad. Theirs was one team I was looking forward to watching. I still remember the 190 they scored in 13.5 overs to qualify for the 50 overs WC last time! What a match that was against the Irish! Looks like the Irish are gonna be next victim to the rain 😦

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  3. Cannit agree with you more…yes the si called underdogs remain that way and never get a chance to come even stevens with the giants..so to say..yes tge rules are lopsided..

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      1. sorry Alok…about the typos..
        What I meant to convey is that the post is an eye opener as far as the amendment to the rules of ICC is concerned. You have indeed hit the nail on the head and time has indeed come for the so called “underdog” teams to play in the mainstream cricket and not get sidelined by their play offs.

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  5. I did not know that. I was watching the match yesterday and well… It is not just ICC but even people. Some of my colleagues were actually making fun of Hong Kong and Afghanistan. They were looking at the sport and not necessarily the spirit of the game. Gosh!

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  6. I think there were 12 teams in the last world cup . If I remember correctly. . But performance was not up to par. Hence why it was reduced back to 10.

    I personally feel 20 20 has spoilt the whole persona of the game as such.. but that’s the way it is..
    There is no harm in having all of them in two groups and go to super 4 in the 20 20 world cup.

    Everyone needs to have a chance but icc itself is full of politics and all that pallava..

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  8. I don’t know much about cricket, but what I do know is that it is a big sport in India. It is one multicultural sport that people seem drawn to wherever its played. Some may call it boring because there can be lots of batting and the scoreboard creeping up really slowiy – but then again, slow and steady wins the race. The cheers you here when someone takes a wicket after a while 😀

    It sounds like there are so many good teams in this series. May the best team win 🙂

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    1. In spite of having so many teams, there still are only a handful that are competent to play at the big stage. Even otherwise, very few countries are involved in Cricket.

      Happy to hear your views.

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      1. That is so true. Whenever I turn on the Australian news and they have a segment on cricket, it usually is the same teams from the same countries – usually the top ones. But I am sure grassroots cricket at community level is popular and a lot of fun too 🙂

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  9. It’s sad the way ICC have been handling the ‘Associate’ nations, not letting them get beyond the tag of ‘minnows’. Look what happened to Kenya. They used to be such a promising side, but lack of proper exposure lead them to their disappearance from Cricket map. ICC should let these Associate teams play with Full Time members regularly, and also draft them in domestic leagues like IPL, so that players from these nations can get wider exposure. Unfortunately, looking at the current scenario, this doesn’t seem possible in the near future 😦

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  11. I think it’s more important to visualize quality in every sport including cricket. We have a pretty passionate football following in India, but that doesn’t make FIFA change rules to include India in an easier group. The challenges Afghanistan currently faces will only make them stronger and bring out the best in them. And increasing the number of associates will increase the number of matches, which will mean more investment for ICC. I don’t know their balance sheet details, but maybe they cannot afford that. It will take time, but things will get better Alok.

    However, I agree with you on the point about West Indies. The amount of turmoil in the Board and the appalling quality of cricket they play should be enough reason for the ICC to make them an associate team too. Maybe it’s pressure from the former legends like Lara, Richards etc. which isn’t allowing them to do so.

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    1. I agree with your thoughts. However, even if you don’t want to qualify the likes of Afghanistan directly to Super 10 stage, at least give them some matches with full members throughout the year?

      How would they improve if they just get to play the biggies in WCs (every 4 yrs)!

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  12. When compared to most other world cups, having just 10 countries to battle it out for a “world” cup is too little, don’t you think. I think ICC needs to include all the associate teams, and if possible more, if it wants to call it a “world” cup.

    Destination Infinity

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  15. Such an interesting title Alok!
    Being a crazy cricket fan myself I agree with you. The way Afghanistan and Bangladesh are playing, its a visual treat to watch their matches! And the best part, so many people are supporting Afghanistan out here, which is quite interesting to see.
    Coming to Netherlands, they didn’t even get a chance to prove their worth! As you mentioned, I was actually hoping it would be Bangladesh or Ireland from Group A, but Ireland was kind of disappointment this time.

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  16. When I read the title, I thought ICC that you meant was the International Criminal Court! What a coincidence – and the title relates to the issues carried by ICC -the court. Thank you for great onfo about ICC for sport!

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  18. Exams over. Cricket fever on!! … at my place too 😀 For world peace’ sake ICC should make it Super dozen instead of Super 10. Well….in the meantime …my folks are enjoying the most exciting round of cricket as the arch rivals come face to face.

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