Why Associate members are indispensable to the World Cup - Part 2 - Opinion
That tournament and Sri Lanka’s feat was perhaps a clear cut indication that minnows could exceed expectations in a global environment. Sri Lanka however, was not an associate member nation in that tournament, despite winning the World Cup for the very first
time. The rise of the minnows only began in the 1997 ICC qualifier Trophy in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013. The latter saw the rise of Bangladesh as a talented cricket team after
they managed to overhaul Pakistan in one of the group matches of the tournament. It proved to be a defining moment for a team that was not even given a slight chance of winning in their numerous encounters with tougher oppositions. Whispers of yet another
Sri Lanka on the cricket map circulated in every corner of the globe, and it was true that for a period of time, names such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Aminul-Islam-c76673, when Bangladesh was given the Test
status in 2000. Yet where http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 qualifier finalists.
The 2003 edition of the World Cup was perhaps the finest example of miniature glory since http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 at Centurion
Park. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 became the first associate nation to reach the Semi Finals of any Cricket World Cup and managed to defy the odds by beating
formidable teams such as Sri Lanka and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 on their way to the final. That performance underlined how an associate member nation became prominently known in the cricket sphere after they were given an appropriate platform to perform. Kenya however, witnessed
a slump similar to Bangladesh in 2000.
2007 on the other hand, was no different for the minnows. This time it was the Irish Cricket team that made the headlines. A team of amateurs managed to stun http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751 was a side that had gained notoriety
for being giant killers, yet their achievements were largely unheard of in the international arena. They did however, manage to achieve the unthinkable, and provided a much needed surprise package for those who had written them off in the Caribbean.
It is perhaps noteworthy, that the performances above are not only extraordinary, but romantic as well. For teams which only get a chance to make their mark after four years, depriving them of that very right would be unfair. The ICC’s claim of not including
the minnows in 2015 would have held substance, if the minnows were performing poorly in previous World Cups. Yet history certainly favors the bereaved associate member nations, who would continue to strive hard to make their mark in the international arena.
They are indispensable to the World Cup in every way.
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