Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland, has launched a stinging attack on the ICC and the way it handles cricket below Test level.

The ICC has sunk millions of pounds into Associate and Affiliate cricket, and established several global competitions, but speaking to the Wisden Cricketer, Deutrom was unimpressed.

“What is the point of Associate cricket?” he said. “Ireland has proved itself head and shoulders above the rest of the Associate nations, winning all the available titles in every form of the game – four-day, 50-over and Twenty20. Yet we are bumping up against a glass ceiling. What does the ICC want us to do? How do we get from high-performance programme to the higher echelons of the world game? There is no road map for us. The issue brings to question the whole mission statement of the ICC High Performance programme: what is it preparing teams for?”

Continue reading "'What's the point of Associate cricket?'"

The ability of sporting bodies to hype their own products should never be underestimated. Rarely does an event seem to pass without it being heralded as the “most watched” in history.

In 2007, the organisers of F1 claimed a global audience of several squillion before someone noted that appeared to assume that everyone in China watched the brief clips on the evening news rather than sat glued to the entire race.

Now Stephen Brenkley in the Independent has pulled up the ICC. Earlier this week it gushed that the World Twenty20 will be seen in 218 countries around the world. He noted that there are only 194 recognised countries on the planet.

Perhaps any readers in Burkina Faso or Tuvalu would let us know how they are enjoying the event?

Laurie Peters, Namibia’s chief executive, has called the ICC’s decision to restructure the Intercontinental Cup as “disappointing” and said that it will have a negative affect on cricket in the country.

Continue reading "Namibia anger as ICC dumps them from cup"

The United Arab Emirates will host the ICC World Twenty20 2010 Qualifier later this year. The event, which is currently scheduled to take place in late October, will also be expanded from its previous staging, in Ireland in 2008.

In addition to featuring the six Associate and Affiliate teams with ODI status - Ireland, Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Scotland - it will also include the host team and the United States of America (USA).

The top two sides from the tournament will go forward to join the 10 ICC Full Members in next year's main event, set to take place in the West Indies in April and May at three locations - Barbados, Guyana and St Lucia.

These decisions were made by the ICC Development Committee, which has been meeting this week in Dubai.

"I am thrilled that the ICC Development Committee has again taken an expansive and innovative approach to promoting our great sport by inviting the UAE and USA to join the top six Associate and Affiliate teams at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier later this year," said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat. "The committee has given the chance for the top six Associate and Affiliate teams to qualify for the ICC World Twenty20, something they had the chance to do in the equivalent event in Ireland last year, while, at the same time, creating two additional invitational slots for this event."

The ICC has thrown the USA an unexpected lifeline by inviting them to take part in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in the UAE later this year.

After several years of infighting, including two periods where the USA Cricket Association was actually suspended by the ICC, the team currently languishes in the lower regions of world cricket.

Continue reading "USA fast-tracked into global big time"

Countries who receive ICC monies but do not field a national side could lose out as the whole way that Associates and Affiliates are funded.

Until now, once a country gained such status its board merely had to show that it functioned to continue receiving annual payments, But as the sums involved grow, the ICC has decided to raise the bar in terms of what they are expected to do and to enforce its own rules more strictly.

If countries do not put out a national side then they will be put on notice at this year's ICC AGM in June, and if the situation remains unremedied they face being suspended in 2011. That gives them three years to correct the situation.

Continue reading "ICC to clamp down on non-performing Affiliates"

ICC Europe has announced the regional winners of the ICC Development Programme Awards for 2008.

Continue reading "ICC Europe announces 2008 awards"

Three ODI venues are among the nine set to host the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa, according to the schedule released for the 12-team tournament from April 1 to 19. Willowmoore Park in Benoni and Senwes Park in Potchefstroom will be used for first-round and Super Eight matches, while the final will be held at Centurion's SuperSport Park.

Continue reading "ICC announces schedule for World Cup Qualifiers"

ICC president Haroon Lorgat and special advisor IS Bindra will meet with USA Cricket Association officials in New York later this month.

The visit is the first by any senior ICC official since the board returned from its second suspension following elections last March. The USACA president, Gladstone Dainty, was re-elected despite being seen by many as the major block to progress within the country, and he has continued to court controversy with rumours growing that the USA could even be suspended again after months of inaction.

Continue reading "ICC big guns head to New York"

The schedule for the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 which takes place in Argentina next month has been announced. The two finalists will progress to the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa in April.

Click here for the complete schedule

The ICC has agreed in principle to the launch of Divisions 6 and 7 of the World Cricket League, with the inaugural Division 6 tournament taking place in May/June 2009 in Guernsey and the Division 7 event in September in Singapore. Those venues are subject to confirmation.

The 10 slots have been assigned by region, with three teams from Asia (two for Division 6 and one for Division 7), three teams from Europe (one for Division 6 and two for Division 7), two teams from Africa (one for each division), one team from the Americas (for Division 7) and one team from East Asia-Pacific (also for Division 7).

The teams in Division 7 will, be Guernsey, Nigeria, Japan, Suriname, Bahrain and Gibraltar, while Division Six will consist of Singapore, Botswana, Norway, Malaysia and the top two teams from Division 7.

The Netherlands allrounder, Ryan ten Doeschate, has been named as the Associate Player of the Year for 2008 at the ICC Awards in Dubai.

Click here for more

A little more than a week after the postponement of the Champions Trophy, Cricinfo can reveal that the ICC will have to either move or postpone its next high-profile event, the World Cup Qualifiers.

The tournament, which involves the leading Associates, is due to be staged in the UAE next April, with the top four countries winning a place at the 2011 World Cup. The event will also be used to establish which six Associates will be granted one-day status for the next four years.

Read the full story here and leave your comments below.

The ICC and ECB have reaffirmed their support for the mandatory release of Associate players from county cricket to take part in international matches and the priority of FTP events.

Continue reading "Boards reaffirm commitment to Associates"

The ICC has announced a revised schedule for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast next month.

The tournament, involving the six leading Associate teams - Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland - will now take place from August 2 to 5, with a fourth day included to allow room for a third and fourth-place play-off.

Click here for the full story

Zimbabwe's withdrawal from the ICC World Twenty20 in England in 2009 has opened the way for a third Associate county to be invited from next month's ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers.

The leading Associates meet in Belfast between August 2 and 4 with the top two gained an automatic place in the main event the following June.

"The third associate will come through the qualifiers in August this year," Samir Inamdar, the chairman of the ICC's Affiliates and Associates, told Cricinfo. "I have had a conversation with Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, who has agreed that it is logical to replace Zimbabwe with an Associate."

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Continue reading "Future bright beyond the Test world"

The ICC has confirmed that the World Cricket League will be expanded from five to eight divisions after the 2009 World Cup Qualifiers.

The WCL was launched in 2007 with the dual aims of providing more meaningful cricket to more Associates and Affiliates, and also giving a direct path which enabled any country to achieve the ultimate goal of playing in the World Cup.

The addition of three more divisions has been made possible by the substantial increase in funding available once the ICC’s new media deal kicks in next year. It is believed that Division Six and Seven will run in 2008 and Division Eight in 2009.

The extra leagues, which should be approved by the ICC when it meets for its annual meeting in Dubai at the end of the month, will be drawn up based on results in regional competitions.

Ireland will host the inaugural World Twenty20 Qualifiers between August 2 and 4, with the top six Associates vying for the two places available to them in next year's ICC World Twenty20 in England.

Click here for more and the itinerary.