The uplifting performance by the Netherlands on Tuesday was a shot in the arm against the ICC’s continued bungling of its supposed premier limited overs competition - the World Cup.
Despite England’s narrow win, the match justified beyond doubt the presence of the Associate teams in international cricket’s premier limited overs competition.
One of the main purposes of the ICC is surely to expand the game of cricket to new territories. At least that is what you would think.
However, in their infinite wisdom, the ICC has decided that the Associate teams will not participate in the next World Cup in 2015, which will now take place down under with 10 instead of 14 teams.
The ICC has been ruining the World Cup for many years. The introduction of the Super Six and then Super Eight stages meant that the tournament was unnecessarily long and the spectacle of knockout matches only came into effect from the semi-finals.
Most cricket fans abhorred the Super Six/Eight stage and when India and Pakistan failed to make it out of the group stages in the 2007 tournament in the Caribbean, the ICC suddenly decided to join the bandwagon.
Of course, the ICC's concerns weren't down to the dreary repetitive cricket or the unfeasible length of the competition but solely down to the fact that India’s failure to get into the Super Eight stage had hit them where it hurt most – in the wallet. The ICC resolved that this could not happen again - especially with the next World Cup being held on the sub-continent.
Hence the format of this World Cup where 42 warm-up matches will produce the eight quarter-finalists we all expect - the only doubt would seem to be whether Bangladesh or West Indies (or indeed England) make it into the last eight. The tournament is still far too long and will take a ridiculous six weeks to complete, but the ICC will make lots of money.
Understandably the levels of criticism have been high over the format, but instead of actually listening to and analysing what has been said, the ICC has only seen what it wanted to see, heard what it wanted to hear and spoken only what it really wanted to say.
Unfortunately, in a complete reversal of the true meaning of the ancient Japanese proverb of the Three Wise Monkeys, the ICC has seen, heard and spoken only evil when it comes to the Associate countries.
So now the likes of The Netherlands, Ireland and Afghanistan will be deprived of the opportunity of taking part in cricket’s premier limited overs international tournament.
How ridiculous.
The solution is simple. Expand the tournament to 16 teams organised into four groups of four with the top two in each group progressing through to the quarter-finals.
Every team will be guaranteed three matches, the tournament would be mercifully shorter at 31 matches and the wonderful game of cricket would develop in new countries.
So what if one of the big teams exits early? That is what makes a knockout competition so special. If Netherlands had won on Tuesday, even as England fans part of us would have enjoyed it.
That's the thrill of a cup competition - seeing one of the so called minnows beating one of the fancied teams. Think Senegal beating holders France in the opening match of the 2002 football World Cup, or Zimbabwe beating Australia in cricket's World Cup of 1983, and of course Netherlands beating England in the 2009 World T20.
Yet again, the ICC have proved that their finger is as far removed from the pulse as it is possible to be. From henceforth, they should be known as the Three Stupid Money-Grabbing Monkeys.
Where next?
Read all our World Cup posts here
REVEALED: The ICC's plans for the 2015 Groundhog Day Cricket World Cup
Cricket heroes: Test Match Sofa
Cricket zeroes: Channel 9's commentary team
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Posted by: Blogjunta | Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 09:52
Other than the England - Netherlands match, every other game has been trash. I just pop in to check half way score by which the match pretty much has been decided.
Of course, England didn't set the best of standards but hey, who cares! More groups, more associate nations, more pressure! Let the test playing nations face the music. Who knows what would have been the pressure if England were in a group of four where you might not get a 2nd chance.
Posted by: AB | Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 17:51
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Posted by: Bon Toy | Friday, February 25, 2011 at 12:11