It should have been a triumph for cricket, yet the feeling lingered in my mind that the recently completed ICC Cricket World Cup was a triumph despite the International Cricket Council and not because of it.

After all of the complaints surrounding the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, little had really changed:-

ICC World Cup 2011 – 49 Matches over 43 days (Associate Nations involved at least until the completion of the 41st Fixture after 29 days)

ICC World Cup 2007 – 51 Matches over 47 days (Associate Nations involved at least until the completion of the 24th Fixture after 13 days)

The simple fact of the matter is that the format of the competition was flawed, and even more so was the scheduling. Does anybody honestly believe that the format of the tournament was dictated by anything other than television and money? If so, I would love to hear the justification.

Exactly why were India faced with a gap of 8 days between each of their first 3 fixtures?

Why essentially were each of these teams hanging around on the Subcontinent for just short of 5 weeks in which to play 6 matches?

Whether the ICC appreciate it or not, I suspect that it was down to a shortage of camera crews and television commentators. Personally, I can find no other means of explaining a schedule which had several days containing just one solitary fixture. The Asian Subcontinent is large, so logistics must be accounted for, but even the flight time between Dhaka and Colombo is only around 3 hours. With 13 Stadiums being utilised for the tournament, is there any justifiable reason, whatsoever, which prevented at least 3 or 4 fixtures taking place on a given day – television requirements apart?

Is there any reason why international cricketers would be unable to play a 1-Day International after a gap of 3 days? Absolutely not in my opinion, and this is the reason why we were faced with a tournament in which people were losing interest and passion long before it reached the final stages. The competition did not have too many teams or too many fixtures, just a shocking schedule.

Had the Subcontinent not come alive to the beat of an India versus Pakistan Semi-Final, followed by the Final between 2 of the host nations, would we have witnessed any of the glorious scenes that we did? Does anyone really think that this tournament would have been remotely successful had Australia managed to eliminate India at the Quarter-Final stage? Was it anything but the passion of these wonderful fans that made the tournament the great spectacle into which it eventuated?

Had it not been for the progress of India through the knockout stages, the Tournament would still be looking for a catalyst, a day on which it really took off … that is unless you of course recall Wednesday 2 March, the glorious evening in Bengaluru on which Ireland brought the tournament alive with their stunning victory against England. Such are the margins between failure and success, you take that magnificent performance away, and throw in a surprise defeat for India at some point, then exactly what were we left with other than 50 days of repetitious tedium in scarcely populated stadia.

The tournament was saved by MS Dhoni and his team, and by that performance by Phil Simmons’ men. And do the Irish get any thanks? A rhetorical question of course, but some 24 hours after the announcement, I am still utterly amazed by the decision of the ICC to reduce the next World Cup to 10 Teams with no qualification from outside the Full-Member nations. For all the very justified arguments that I have heard, let us do some simple maths based on the last 2 World Cups:-

West Indies – P 16; W7; L9
Wins against Full-Member Nations 4 (Pakistan, Zimbabwe, 2 x Bangladesh)

England – P16; W8; L7; T1
Wins against Full-Member Nations 4 (2 x West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa)

Bangladesh – P15; P6; L9
Wins against Full-Member Nations 3 (India, South Africa, Holland)

Zimbabwe – P9; W2; L6; T1
NO Wins against Full-Member Nations

Ireland – P15, W4, L10, T1
Wins against Full-Member Nations 3 (Pakistan, England, Bangladesh)

Based on that alone, Ireland would merit their place in the World Cup ahead of the Zimbabweans, but I would see no reason at all why the West Indies or Bangladesh should be guaranteed World Cup status based on their performances and results.

If the ICC wish to make changes, then reduce the team to 12 tournaments or remould the format. Cricket is never going to have a 32 nation tournament, as with Football, but the growth of the game relies on the developing nations being exposed to high level competition. Of course, the ICC is too busy pandering to the needs of the cash rich nations to ever remember this.

14 Nations may be too many at this point, as nobody wants a string of meaningless fixtures at the start of the tournament. However, why not divide 12 teams (made up of the 10 Member Nations and 2 Associates) into 4 pools of 3, or 3 pools of 4. It allows for the developing nations to compete in the showpiece event, and it shortens the group stage to a much more manageable 12 or 18 fixtures before the tournament is reduced to 6 or 8 teams genuinely competing in key fixtures.

It is just a thought but, in my opinion, a much more logical one than the revenue maximising schedule of the current tournament. The ICC has a responsibility as guardians and custodians of the game, one in which they have too often failed.

They have, on this occasion, failed Ireland and its cricketing public both spectacularly and shamefully. There may well be 2 or 3 Irishmen playing in the 2015 World Cup, as George Dockrell, amongst others, has every opportunity to cement a place in the England side alongside Eoin Morgan. How can Irish cricket ever sustain itself when this is the case? However, this is the organisation so committed to developing the game that its 2003 Semi-Finalists Kenya are unlikely to see another World Cup for several years.

I feel dreadfully sorry for families like the O’Briens this morning, whom along with Cricket Ireland have done so much to raise the profile of cricket on the Emerald Isle. I feel for Phil Simmons, a high class individual who has worked tirelessly to develop this side and make them the best Associate by some way.

The ICC say they can qualify for 2019 and play in a bi-annual World T20. Well thanks so much, that is sure to help them develop and retain talent! Ireland’s captain, Will Porterfield, described this decision as a joke and a disgrace. I am surprised that he was able to maintain such niceties in his words.

The ICC are incompetent, corrupt, incapable of governing the game, and in gross dereliction of their duties as I write today.

Rohan Kallicharan

I am the editor of hetoreahamstring.co.uk and also have a personal site at rohankallicharan.co.uk. I am passionate about all sports and would probably pay over the odds from a tout to watch the world tiddlywinks final. I was fortunate to grow up inside the dressing room of the legendary West Indian cricket team of the 1970/80s - this has, I hope, given me a real insight into sport as a whole and the mindset of successful sportsmen. I played cricket and rugby at representative level as a youth, and also have a UK College Bowl winning medal in American Football! My real passions are West Indian cricket and Liverpool Football Club but I will write about much more! I hope you enjoy the site.

More Posts

Follow Me: