Ricky Ponting favours exclusion of associate nations from World Cup
Australian captain Ricky Ponting has backed the International Cricket Council’s (ICC's) move to exclude the associate member teams from future World Cups. This move will ensure that teams such as Canada, Kenya, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751 will not be a part
of the 2015 World Cup.
Two matches featuring http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 in their respective matches. Kenya lost to the Kiwis by 10 wickets, after the Africans were bowled-out for just 69 runs. On
the other hand, Canada lost to hosts Sri Lanka by a massive margin of 210 runs.
Ponting told reporters, “I've always been a bit unsure if World Cups and Champions Trophies are the right place to do (include associate nations). The major reason for that is I'm not sure how much a lot of the teams actually learn when they are getting
hammered like they tend to do in a lot of those contests.”
However, the Australian captain said that he understood the responsibility of the ICC to help other countries grow in the sport, alongside the top teams.
There are also some cricketers who disagree with Ponting’s point of view. Englishman Graeme Swann claimed that more countries should be allowed to play in the mega event otherwise it shouldn’t be called the world cup.
Ponting’s team-mate Shaun Tait also backed the smaller teams to be a part of the mega event, and said that playing against tougher opponents would make them stronger and they would be much more competitive every time they play.
There have been some good performances by smaller teams in the past, which has forced the ICC to allow them to participate again and again. Ireland defeated http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in the 2007 World Cup to advance to the second round, while Kenya reached the semi-finals
of the 2003 tournament.
However, ICC chief http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haroon-Lorgat-c61719 has claimed that Twenty20 cricket is a better format for the minnows to express their potential. He added that 50-over cricket was too tough for smaller teams to compete in.
The ICC may harm the development of smaller nations by not allowing them to participate in major tournaments, but this seems to be an appropriate move in order to make the sport more exciting and competitive.
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