The cricket World Cup is over and I want to congratulate India on their victory. On a personal note, I think that it is great that Sachin Tendulker is able to finally hoist the World Cup. He seems (at least his public persona any ways) to be such a nice person, and a classy player. Now that that is over with, on to what I really want to talk about.
The ICC (International Cricket Council) has determined that "Associate" nations will not be allowed to play at the 2015 World Cup to be held in Australia. That means that Countries such as the Netherlands, Kenya, Canada, Ireland etc will not be allowed to compete at the next World Cup. They say that ticket sales will be too low, and that there will be little to no interest in games involving these teams. It seems to be an argument that on the surface has some merit. After all, the pundits claim that no one will want to watch Canada play Kenya in a pool match, where neither team stands much of a chance of moving onto the next round. Other than the few Canadian cricket fans living, or visiting here (all 5 of us *LOL*), the crowds will be very low. However, when you look back through history in this cricket mad country, you'll find very little interest in countries that are not playing Australia. In fact of late, interest in one day cricket is waning here even when Australia is playing. Crowds have been declining steadily, along with the decline in the quality of Australian cricket.
If ticket sales were to be the sole deciding factor, then the West Indies, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe may as well be excluded too. In fact any game not including Australia may as well be not included. When Australia had their triangular series going after the test season, crowds were very low at games that did not include the hosts. Regardless of whether they were good games, with quality opponents. Using ticket sales to determine a draw is in my opinion ludicrous.
The other reason to not include the so called 'minnows' (the Associate nations) is that they don't stand a chance against the top teams. This is somewhat true, but please don't tell Ireland okay. Neither do most of the teams that play in the Soccer World Cup, yet they still allow them in.
It is true that the Associate nations may not have the talent to stand toe to toe with the top teams, but how are they supposed to test themselves if they are not allowed to try ??? How are they ever going to get better if they only play against teams of the same level ??
I followed Canada's progress through this World Cup, and was very impressed by how well they played. Yes they lost all but one game, but with a bit better batting they could have beaten Pakistan. Had they played Pakistan later in the tournament, I think they would have put a major scare into them, as Canada's batting improved in the last two games. Against Sri Lanka, Canada scored their highest World Cup score ever with a 260. Granted they were chasing a massive total, but against a very good attack, they ground out a respectable score. Against Australia they scored over 200 again, something unheard of in previous World Cups.
The ICC is in charge of growing the game worldwide, so how is it growing the game if they reduce the number of teams allowed to play in the showcase tournament ?? In my opinion, the ICC is being very short-sighted by reducing the number of teams that are included in the World Cup. It will reduce the already paltry media coverage in those countries to basically zero. So could someone please explain to me how will this raise the profile of the game in the Associate nations?? The only explanation I can think of is that the ICC is trying to kill off the 50 overs game, and promote the twenty20 version. With the rise of the IPL, this version of the game is gaining popularity quickly. I have read that the ICC wants to hold a tournament every 2 years, and will include the Associate nations in the tournament. Perhaps it's the ICC's way of telling the World that the end is near for the 50 over format.
