ICC annual conference

ICC annual conference

Associates included in 2015 World Cup

Sharda Ugra in Hong Kong

June 28, 2011

The ICC has reversed its decision on excluding Associates from the 2015 World Cup, which will now comprise 14 teams including four Associates as it was in the 2011 edition. The decision to reinstate the Associates, which was taken on the third day of the ICC's annual conference in Hong Kong, is a reversal of the ICC's heavily criticised move to restrict the 2015 tournament to the Full Members.

The ICC has, however, reduced the number of teams in the World Twenty20s in 2012 and 2014 from 16 to 12 (ten Full Members and two Associates).

Kevin O Brien
The Associates are back in business
 © Getty Images

It also spelled out the qualification process it had announced for the 2019 World Cup; there will be ten teams in the tournament, with the top-eight ranked sides gaining automatic entry and the remaining two spots decided by a new qualification competition. Seen through to the logical process there would, for the first time in World Cup history, be the likelihood of a full member nation being eliminated from the competition before its start.

The decision to exclude Associates from the 2015 edition was made shortly after the 2011 World Cup final. It sparked a wave of protests, especially since Ireland, who are the leading Associate team, had performed creditably in the competition, upsetting England and competing in most of their other games.

Much like what transpired on the opening day of the ICC conference, when the discussion on the FTP and the DRS was pushed over to the next morning due to the intensity of the debate, discussions on Tuesday around the proposed amendment over the appointment of the ICC president were also postponed to Wednesday. At Tuesday's meeting, the first move towards overturning the Executive Board's original plan to restrict the 2015 World Cup to full member nations came from the BCCI.

The decision was welcomed by a "delighted" Warren Deutrom, the Cricket Ireland chief executive. "The board should be greatly commended in the first instance for agreeing to look again at the matter, and then for being courageous enough to review their original decision - that isn't easy," he told ESPNcricinfo. "As for Ireland, we now have to get our heads down and try to qualify for it [2015 World Cup]!" The Executive Board meeting to finalise the Associates involvement in the World Cup stretched on for close to four hours.

The Associates' delight would not have been shared by the hosts Australia and New Zealand, who supported a shorter, sharper format. By cutting the tournament down to 10 teams, the Executive Board had hoped to repeat 1992's most appreciated World Cup format, in which all teams played each other once. Having the main teams playing nine matches each would have sustained interest and been television-friendly.

As far as why the ICC have not gone for a 12-team tournament, the argument is that a 12-team format means the minimum number of matches each team plays is drastically cut down from nine to five. Fourteen is considered a more acceptable figure, particularly for broadcasters, ensuring that ratings stay high and public attention is retained through a month-long event.

After being part of the Associates shutout in April, bringing the number 14 back into the picture has enabled the BCCI to ensure that a big numerical lobby in the full council is on their side going into the rotation issue on Wednesday. Four non-member teams now having a chance to make it through to world cricket's biggest event. For a special resolution to change the ICC Constitution the requirement is for the support of eight Full Members and 38 out of 50 of the full council.

Sharda Ugra is senior editor at ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan 25/0 (9.0/36 ov)

Ireland v Pakistan, 1st ODI, Belfast

Junaid, Ajmal bowl out Ireland for 96

ESPNcricinfo staff

May 28, 2011

On a stop-start game in Belfast, first delayed by rain and then interrupted further by drizzle, Pakistan needed just 20 overs to wipe out the Ireland batting. The game had been reduced to 38 overs initially, then to 36 following another delay, but the Ireland batsmen weren't able to cope against the Pakistan seamers. Junaid Khan, the left-arm seamer, playing his sixth ODI, starred with a four-for, stemming the initial flow of runs with the wicket of Paul Stirling and rattling the rest in a collapse. Saeed Ajmal, the offspinner, then cleaned up the tail to set the stage for what should be a comfortable victory.

Toss Pakistan chose to field v Ireland

Kevin O Brien

Persistent drizzle in Belfast reduced the first ODI between Ireland and Pakistan to 38 overs a side, and Pakistan, keen to exploit the favourable conditions for their seamers, chose to field. Misbah-ul-Haq leads the visitors, having replaced Shahid Afridi as Pakistan's ODI captain just prior to the series; Afridi then opted out of the tour for personal reasons. Younis Khan, who missed the tour of West Indies, also for personal reasons, returned to the line-up.

Ireland are without their star wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O'Brien, who is out due to a fractured finger, so Gary Wilson, who played in the 2011 World Cup, will take up duties behind the stumps.

Ireland: 1 Paul Stirling, 2 William Porterfield, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Gary Wilson (wk), 5 Kevin O'Brien, 6 John Mooney, 7 Alex Cusack, 8 Trent Johnston, 9 Nigel Jones, 10 Andrew White, 11 Boyd Rankin.

Pakistan: 1 Taufeeq Umar, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Salman (wk), 8 Umar Gul, 9 Junaid Khan, 10 Tanvir Ahmed, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

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M Usman Arshad

Kevin O'Brien watches his off stump disappear

Kevin O'Brien watches his off stump disappear, Ireland v Pakistan, 1st ODI, Belfast, May 28, 2011

©AFP

Kevin O'Brien watches his off stump disappear, Ireland v Pakistan, 1st ODI, Belfast, May 28, 2011©AFP

Ireland 96 all out

Ireland 96 (20.0/36 ov)

Pakistan

Pakistan won the toss and elected to field

Pakistan in Ireland 2011

Ireland have nothing to prove to ICC - Phil Simmons

ESPNcricinfo staff

May 27, 2011

The stakes are high for Ireland as they prepare for their first international assignment - a two-match ODI series against Pakistan - since the 2011 World Cup, an opportunity to restate their credentials as worthy participants in 2015. The ICC had axed the Associates from the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but will reassess the tournament's composition at its annual conference in June, following criticism of the decision to limit participation to the ten Full Members.

Ireland's coach Phil Simmons, however, has said his side will not be looking at the series solely as a chance to prove a point to the ICC. Ireland were easily the most impressive Associate team in 2011 World Cup, where they beat England in a major upset, stretched West Indies and Bangladesh in the league phase, and pulled off a convincing win against Netherlands.

Kevin O Brien

"I don't see these matches as a case of proving the ICC wrong," Simmons told PA Sport on the eve of the first ODI in Belfast. "I think the cricket world knows that it [the ICC's] is the wrong decision. We will go out there and prove things to ourselves, that we can beat these top teams. The more we beat them the closer we will get to what we want to achieve, which is getting higher in the world rankings.

Ireland's World Cup showing may not have impressed the ICC, but Simmons believes it has earned his side respect from their opponents. "The big teams think about us a bit more now," he said. "I don't think they come and just play us without discussing us. They may have done that a year ago, but now they will plan for us better so we have to be on our game. We've crossed a stage since last year where we go into games now planning to win, not planning to survive. It's not a case of 'are we going to make 200' but 'how are we going to win the game'."

Pakistan arrive straight from the West Indies, where they drew the two-Test series 1-1. Simmons said the drastic change in conditions could be a problem for the visitors. "I think the weather can help us," he said. "If it's as cold as this then there is always that little bit of an advantage. The main thing here is that they've seen us play in our conditions, and we are good in these conditions. We are hard to beat. We almost beat Australia in Dublin last year. Since then we've got more confidence, you saw that in the World Cup, and if we can play with that confidence we can win for sure."

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, was wary of Ireland's abilities to spring surprises, and said they deserved to remain in the World Cup. "Just looking at the World Cup, because I haven't seen much of their cricket outside that, they played like champions. It was top-level cricket," Waqar said. "The ICC have got a different ruling but I personally believe they have a good side and they are getting better day by day.

"They are a good side, young and very enthusiastic," he said. "They chased 300-plus against England. Who thought they could do that? They are a very positive side and they are big fighters. We know what they are capable of. We have to be very, very careful."

Waqar admitted that acclimatising to the weather change was going to be a challenge for his side. "Coming from 35-40 degrees with a lot of humidity there, and coming into this weather, it is hard to adjust, especially with all those flights as well," he said. "I think we are professional enough to adapt to the conditions very quickly.

The games will be played in Belfast, on May 28 and 30 respectively.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to field

Ireland 28/1 (4.1/38 ov)

Pakistan

Pakistan won the toss and elected to field

1st ODI: Ireland v Pakistan at Belfast 
May 28, 2011 (10:45 local | 09:45 GMT | 14:45 PKT)

Pakistan in Ireland 2011

Ireland have nothing to prove to ICC - Phil Simmons

ESPNcricinfo staff

May 27, 2011

The stakes are high for Ireland as they prepare for their first international assignment - a two-match ODI series against Pakistan - since the 2011 World Cup, an opportunity to restate their credentials as worthy participants in 2015. The ICC had axed the Associates from the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but will reassess the tournament's composition at its annual conference in June, following criticism of the decision to limit participation to the ten Full Members.

Ireland's coach Phil Simmons, however, has said his side will not be looking at the series solely as a chance to prove a point to the ICC. Ireland were easily the most impressive Associate team in 2011 World Cup, where they beat England in a major upset, stretched West Indies and Bangladesh in the league phase, and pulled off a convincing win against Netherlands.

Kevin O Brien

"I don't see these matches as a case of proving the ICC wrong," Simmons told PA Sport on the eve of the first ODI in Belfast. "I think the cricket world knows that it [the ICC's] is the wrong decision. We will go out there and prove things to ourselves, that we can beat these top teams. The more we beat them the closer we will get to what we want to achieve, which is getting higher in the world rankings.

Ireland's World Cup showing may not have impressed the ICC, but Simmons believes it has earned his side respect from their opponents. "The big teams think about us a bit more now," he said. "I don't think they come and just play us without discussing us. They may have done that a year ago, but now they will plan for us better so we have to be on our game. We've crossed a stage since last year where we go into games now planning to win, not planning to survive. It's not a case of 'are we going to make 200' but 'how are we going to win the game'."

Pakistan arrive straight from the West Indies, where they drew the two-Test series 1-1. Simmons said the drastic change in conditions could be a problem for the visitors. "I think the weather can help us," he said. "If it's as cold as this then there is always that little bit of an advantage. The main thing here is that they've seen us play in our conditions, and we are good in these conditions. We are hard to beat. We almost beat Australia in Dublin last year. Since then we've got more confidence, you saw that in the World Cup, and if we can play with that confidence we can win for sure."

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, was wary of Ireland's abilities to spring surprises, and said they deserved to remain in the World Cup. "Just looking at the World Cup, because I haven't seen much of their cricket outside that, they played like champions. It was top-level cricket," Waqar said. "The ICC have got a different ruling but I personally believe they have a good side and they are getting better day by day.

"They are a good side, young and very enthusiastic," he said. "They chased 300-plus against England. Who thought they could do that? They are a very positive side and they are big fighters. We know what they are capable of. We have to be very, very careful."

Waqar admitted that acclimatising to the weather change was going to be a challenge for his side. "Coming from 35-40 degrees with a lot of humidity there, and coming into this weather, it is hard to adjust, especially with all those flights as well," he said. "I think we are professional enough to adapt to the conditions very quickly.

The games will be played in Belfast, on May 28 and 30 respectively.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

1st ODI : Ireland v Pakistan at Belfast time

1st ODI: Ireland v Pakistan at Belfast 
May 28, 2011 (10:45 local | 09:45 GMT | 14:45 PKT)

Pakistan in Ireland 2011

Ireland have nothing to prove to ICC - Phil Simmons

ESPNcricinfo staff

May 27, 2011

The stakes are high for Ireland as they prepare for their first international assignment - a two-match ODI series against Pakistan - since the 2011 World Cup, an opportunity to restate their credentials as worthy participants in 2015. The ICC had axed the Associates from the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but will reassess the tournament's composition at its annual conference in June, following criticism of the decision to limit participation to the ten Full Members.

Ireland's coach Phil Simmons, however, has said his side will not be looking at the series solely as a chance to prove a point to the ICC. Ireland were easily the most impressive Associate team in 2011 World Cup, where they beat England in a major upset, stretched West Indies and Bangladesh in the league phase, and pulled off a convincing win against Netherlands.

Kevin O Brien

"I don't see these matches as a case of proving the ICC wrong," Simmons told PA Sport on the eve of the first ODI in Belfast. "I think the cricket world knows that it [the ICC's] is the wrong decision. We will go out there and prove things to ourselves, that we can beat these top teams. The more we beat them the closer we will get to what we want to achieve, which is getting higher in the world rankings.

Ireland's World Cup showing may not have impressed the ICC, but Simmons believes it has earned his side respect from their opponents. "The big teams think about us a bit more now," he said. "I don't think they come and just play us without discussing us. They may have done that a year ago, but now they will plan for us better so we have to be on our game. We've crossed a stage since last year where we go into games now planning to win, not planning to survive. It's not a case of 'are we going to make 200' but 'how are we going to win the game'."

Pakistan arrive straight from the West Indies, where they drew the two-Test series 1-1. Simmons said the drastic change in conditions could be a problem for the visitors. "I think the weather can help us," he said. "If it's as cold as this then there is always that little bit of an advantage. The main thing here is that they've seen us play in our conditions, and we are good in these conditions. We are hard to beat. We almost beat Australia in Dublin last year. Since then we've got more confidence, you saw that in the World Cup, and if we can play with that confidence we can win for sure."

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, was wary of Ireland's abilities to spring surprises, and said they deserved to remain in the World Cup. "Just looking at the World Cup, because I haven't seen much of their cricket outside that, they played like champions. It was top-level cricket," Waqar said. "The ICC have got a different ruling but I personally believe they have a good side and they are getting better day by day.

"They are a good side, young and very enthusiastic," he said. "They chased 300-plus against England. Who thought they could do that? They are a very positive side and they are big fighters. We know what they are capable of. We have to be very, very careful."

Waqar admitted that acclimatising to the weather change was going to be a challenge for his side. "Coming from 35-40 degrees with a lot of humidity there, and coming into this weather, it is hard to adjust, especially with all those flights as well," he said. "I think we are professional enough to adapt to the conditions very quickly.

The games will be played in Belfast, on May 28 and 30 respectively.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Pakistan in Ireland 2011

Ireland have nothing to prove to ICC - Phil Simmons

ESPNcricinfo staff

May 27, 2011

The stakes are high for Ireland as they prepare for their first international assignment - a two-match ODI series against Pakistan - since the 2011 World Cup, an opportunity to restate their credentials as worthy participants in 2015. The ICC had axed the Associates from the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but will reassess the tournament's composition at its annual conference in June, following criticism of the decision to limit participation to the ten Full Members.

Ireland's coach Phil Simmons, however, has said his side will not be looking at the series solely as a chance to prove a point to the ICC. Ireland were easily the most impressive Associate team in 2011 World Cup, where they beat England in a major upset, stretched West Indies and Bangladesh in the league phase, and pulled off a convincing win against Netherlands.

Kevin O Brien

"I don't see these matches as a case of proving the ICC wrong," Simmons told PA Sport on the eve of the first ODI in Belfast. "I think the cricket world knows that it [the ICC's] is the wrong decision. We will go out there and prove things to ourselves, that we can beat these top teams. The more we beat them the closer we will get to what we want to achieve, which is getting higher in the world rankings.

Ireland's World Cup showing may not have impressed the ICC, but Simmons believes it has earned his side respect from their opponents. "The big teams think about us a bit more now," he said. "I don't think they come and just play us without discussing us. They may have done that a year ago, but now they will plan for us better so we have to be on our game. We've crossed a stage since last year where we go into games now planning to win, not planning to survive. It's not a case of 'are we going to make 200' but 'how are we going to win the game'."

Pakistan arrive straight from the West Indies, where they drew the two-Test series 1-1. Simmons said the drastic change in conditions could be a problem for the visitors. "I think the weather can help us," he said. "If it's as cold as this then there is always that little bit of an advantage. The main thing here is that they've seen us play in our conditions, and we are good in these conditions. We are hard to beat. We almost beat Australia in Dublin last year. Since then we've got more confidence, you saw that in the World Cup, and if we can play with that confidence we can win for sure."

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, was wary of Ireland's abilities to spring surprises, and said they deserved to remain in the World Cup. "Just looking at the World Cup, because I haven't seen much of their cricket outside that, they played like champions. It was top-level cricket," Waqar said. "The ICC have got a different ruling but I personally believe they have a good side and they are getting better day by day.

"They are a good side, young and very enthusiastic," he said. "They chased 300-plus against England. Who thought they could do that? They are a very positive side and they are big fighters. We know what they are capable of. We have to be very, very careful."

Waqar admitted that acclimatising to the weather change was going to be a challenge for his side. "Coming from 35-40 degrees with a lot of humidity there, and coming into this weather, it is hard to adjust, especially with all those flights as well," he said. "I think we are professional enough to adapt to the conditions very quickly.

The games will be played in Belfast, on May 28 and 30 respectively.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.