Associates - Are you in favor?

[putrevus]

the problem is that in ODI cricket upsets are very rare and unlikely because of the duration of the game. even less in tests which iswhy Banglas are perennially spanked t20 is where yo ucan get upsets and where minnows should be encouraged to play cant compare soccer to cricket. in a 90 min game upsets are very possible

Why do you need more upsets to happen. Ireland had already caused enough upsets in last two world cups. Soccer upsets rarely happen also.Which rank outsider has won world cup in soccer like India did in 1983 or SL did 1996. In any world event there will be some lopsided games, you just have to accept it.I don't understand this need of people wanting minnows to prove their worth every match they play. Pakistan got all out for 125 odd in world cup final and India lost one final before it batted were they not lopsided. Indian team which was praised in 2003 for reaching finals whom did they beat in semifinal a minnow in Kenya. So it is acceptable for England to be white washed in Ashes without putting any fight or India winning just two overseas tests in last four years or Australia losing 0-6 to both India and Pakistan away from home. But when a minnow team succumbs to pressure or is unable to perform it is some how blasphemy to cricket. Most of the players in these minnow teams are playing for love of the game.IMO ICC and fans need to encourage them.

[AmreekanDesi]

Ten detchove (i think i spelled it right)' date=' Dirk Nannes, Boyd Rankin, [b']Eoin Morgan, Ed Joyce, Nabi( ranked #8 odi allrounder) Don't be a f'ing *****. We were once a super minnow aswell. EVERY DAMN TEAM starts off as a minnow -_-

why so aggressive? its just a debate. chill!! yes we were minnows at a time but we got lucky along with NZ Pak and SL that we were minnows at the right time. times have changed cricket cannot accommodate more than 8 teams in ODIs and esp tests. and that is the beauty of our sport cricket was always meant to be an exclusive sport and I enjoy it because of that exclusivity. Cricket is not an inferior sport just coz 50 countries don't play it. The fact that it is exclusive and only very few countries are at the top is what makes this game beautiful

[AmreekanDesi]

Why do you need more upsets to happen. Ireland had already caused enough upsets in last two world cups. Soccer upsets rarely happen also.Which rank outsider has won world cup in soccer like India did in 1983 or SL did 1996. In any world event there will be some lopsided games, you just have to accept it.I don't understand this need of people wanting minnows to prove their worth every match they play. Pakistan got all out for 125 odd in world cup final and India lost one final before it batted were they not lopsided. Indian team which was praised in 2003 for reaching finals whom did they beat in semifinal a minnow in Kenya. So it is acceptable for England to be white washed in Ashes without putting any fight or India winning just two overseas tests in last four years or Australia losing 0-6 to both India and Pakistan away from home. But when a minnow team succumbs to pressure or is unable to perform it is some how blasphemy to cricket. Most of the players in these minnow teams are playing for love of the game.IMO ICC and fans need to encourage them.

Ireland and Banglas caused upsets in 2007 and thus destroyed the whole tournament by getting spanked every game of the super 8s. One fluke victory each meant that we were dealt the most boring WC ever. Atleast tehe current tourney format means that you cant fluke your way out of the Group stage

[brendan07]

and numerous games with empty stands it worked last time in india because we have a big population but I nAus or eng where pop are a percentage of that theres not enough ppl to fill stadiums for 8 hrs either

Also and I hate to say this, work goes till pretty much 6pm Monday- Friday. Thats half the game gone straight away. It is why there should have been 2 games a day on the weekend. 1 game is just stupid, thats the only time Australians generally don't work!

[TNAmarkFrmIndia]

Cricket is getting really boring because it seems most of the time that we're playing the same teams over and over again. We need more teams to freshen things up. Instead of complaining about the quality of the teams and the one-sided matches they produce, we should be asking what could we do to get these teams closer to the quality of the Test playing nations. Most boards are already reluctant to play a bilateral series with the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan so they don't get to play much international cricket. The solution in that case would be to have the players from these countries play domestic cricket in test nations when they're not on international duty. Afghanistan batsmen are quite poor both technically and mentally, but if they were to hone their skills playing for various state teams in India, they'd improve tremendously. I feel the test nations have a greater responsibility in trying to spread the game to other parts of the world and they're not doing their bit. No sport should ever be an exclusive sport. We should try and expand the game to all corners of the globe and do what we can to push those like Afghanistan, Ireland and Nepal that show real promise.

[Zero_Unit]

why so aggressive? its just a debate. chill!! yes we were minnows at a time but we got lucky along with NZ Pak and SL that we were minnows at the right time. times have changed cricket cannot accommodate more than 8 teams in ODIs and esp tests. and that is the beauty of our sport cricket was always meant to be an exclusive sport and I enjoy it because of that exclusivity. Cricket is not an inferior sport just coz 50 countries don't play it. The fact that it is exclusive and only very few countries are at the top is what makes this game beautiful

still stuck in the old empire age mentality? this is exactly how you kill off a sport. truth to be told, majority of the cricket populations don't care to watch nor follow test matches. odi is loosing it's flavor aswell. Your exclusive dream is going to be shattered sooner than you expect.

[Sachinism]

Ten detchove (i think i spelled it right)' date=' Dirk Nannes, Boyd Rankin, [b']Eoin Morgan, Ed Joyce, Nabi( ranked #8 odi allrounder) Don't be a f'ing *****. We were once a super minnow aswell. EVERY DAMN TEAM starts off as a minnow -_-

Exactly, there are some extremely talented players in these associate teams. These players need opportunities to compete with the best and access to better support systems. Without these things, they won't ever improve. So what if these "minnows" get their pants pulled down. Look at how easily India fold abroad. Even after having access to the best facilities and opportunities to gain experience in varying conditions. These minnow teams don't get such opportunities. Forget non-full members, just look at Bangladesh, when were the last time they toured Australia or India?

[putrevus]

Ireland and Banglas caused upsets in 2007 and thus destroyed the whole tournament by getting spanked every game of the super 8s. One fluke victory each meant that we were dealt the most boring WC ever. Atleast tehe current tourney format means that you cant fluke your way out of the Group stage

How do you say fluke victory ,Indians were horrible and lost two out three matches they played in 2007.They were rightly kicked out according to that cup rules.If the format of the cup in 2007 was right or wrong is another topic of discussion. Bangladesh or Ireland were not sorry that it became boring world cup for you. India and Pakistan were once undisputed kings in field hockey but other teams have left them so far behind now.If they never got a chance to play they would never get better. The teams which are horrible now may become champions in next 20 years.Unless they are given chances to improve how will they become better.This narrow minded and selfish thinking of matches becoming one sided from ICC has stopped the game from growing. Any match can be one sided ,to overcome that at least for TV audience they need to play two matches every day.ICC has made this world cup into long and tedious event by this ridiculous scheduling, so don't fault minnows for ICC's greed. Viv Richards 189 was more than SL' s 186 in 1987 , we know what happened in 1996.We also know is Bangladesh opposite end of the spectrum.Like anything in this world they will be good and bad , you cannot expect 100 percent success rate. Zimbabwe's case is more due their political turmoil which stopped them from growing into bigger team. Minnows need to be nurtured and not segregated.