Malcolm Speed says Associates must get a chance to qualify for 2015 World Cup – Cricket Update
A former International cricket Council (ICC) chief executive, Malcolm Speed, says ICC’s decision of including only 10 teams in the next mega event is justified; however, he suggested that the associate nations should be given a chance to qualify for two
spots in the tournament to be held down under.
Speed believes that the emerging cricketing nations such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Netherlands-c753 “should have the right to challenge for the last two spots.”
The 2015 edition of showpiece event is scheduled to be co-hosted by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. The ICC has earlier confirmed a decision of keeping the next World Cup within 10 teams. The step is being heavily criticized all over the World and the Cricket
Ireland has been considering legal actions against the ICC.
The general view about this move is that it will not allow cricket to flourish in the associate countries.
This ICC decision means that only top ten teams will participate in the 2015 edition of World Cup. However there will be a qualifying round for the 2019 mega event, scheduled to be played in England.
While Speed has been supporting ICC’s move to cut down number of team in the tournament, it must be noted that he made the decision to include 14 teams in the competition after 2007 edition. The former ICC boss said that there was huge pressure on the world
body to include as many as six associate nations in the World Cup 2011.
However, Speed justified that his decision by reasoning, “if we did not give the top associate teams incentives to improve and a chance to play on the biggest stage of all against the top sides, with the resultant chance of exposure for the game in their
countries, then we were working against our own mantra of expanding the game."
Speed insisted that during World Cup 2007, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 in the first round of the tournament, and that forced ICC to take that step.
Showing his concern over ICC’s move of ousting associate nations out of international competition, Speed sounded an alarm bell by saying that that this decision may isolate cricket from rest of the world.
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