Has big 8 quality gone down or is this the best group of associates ever assembled?

[veer]

UAE coach criticises World Cup plans http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/837477.html "I think the gap is narrowing now and every Associate is pushing the Full Members," Javed told UAE newspaper the National. "I am really surprised by the decision the ICC already made that the next World Cup would be 10 teams. "Which 10 teams? If you look at the performances from some teams, their graph has been going down, like West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. I am not just talking about in this World Cup. Overall, what have they achieved in the past 10 years? Why can't there be pressure on them to improve, or go down?" He echoed comments made before the tournament by Ireland's Ed Joyce, who questioned why cricket was trying to shrink participation in its marquee event, while other sports are looking to expand theirs. "It is very unusual if you compare it to other sports," Javed said. "Sports need competition and opportunities for every one. What is there for us in Associate cricket? Ireland have been doing so well for the past 10 years, but haven't gained anything. When it comes to open series, nobody wants to play them. Nobody wants to play Associate teams."

Aquib Javed didnt mention pakistan.. :--D

[flamy]

I'm disappointed with Scotland's performance. I thought they would put up a better fight after their warmup.

[Zero_Unit]

UAE coach criticises World Cup plans http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/837477.html "I think the gap is narrowing now and every Associate is pushing the Full Members," Javed told UAE newspaper the National. "I am really surprised by the decision the ICC already made that the next World Cup would be 10 teams. "Which 10 teams? If you look at the performances from some teams, their graph has been going down, like West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. I am not just talking about in this World Cup. Overall, what have they achieved in the past 10 years? Why can't there be pressure on them to improve, or go down?" ... "

This sums it up quite nicely.

[sweetaskandy]

Both factors. Only a few top sides are superior ODI teams now. Eng, Pak, WI and even ourselves are average sides now.

[G_B_]

As i said before the Irish play in the English counties. What you are dealing with is a domestic english team.