10 Things that will happen if Ireland win the 2015 World Cup

Ireland cricket team has been making quite the right noises for some years. From the victory against Pakistan in 2007 world cup, famous win over England and recently a very good series against Pakistan again. It is of no doubt that they are much above the other associates and many people want them to be elevated to test status. With more exposure they can soon join the best in the world. Now what will happen if in 2015 they win the world? Can they, I think with a few improvements they can but what will be the consequences?

1. England team will have all Irish line up for Next World Cup
The England team has a habit of poaching players specially from South Africa, and sometimes from Ireland and Zimbabwe. The England team will be hosting the 2019 World Cup so to be safe they would want to have all the Irish players in their line-up. How will they safeguard the same? Well it is quite simple they have a ICC rule for it. A player can play for a Non Test Nation (Ireland) & Next Day play for a Test Nation (England). But that player after playing for England would have to wait for 4 years to go back to Ireland. Surprised, well that is our ICC

All England would need to do ensure that every Irish player plays for them immediately and till next world cup they cannot play for Ireland!!!

Like Ed Joyce, whole Ireland team expected to wear blue's!!!!

2. Triple heart attack- BCCI, ECB & CA Chiefs
Well don't be surprised. These are the 3 people who are still in the colonial mindset and want cricket to stay that way. Their years of effort would go for a toss. So what can we expect, probably a shock of their life and a heart attack

3. World Cup will be reduced to 4 nations
There would be talk around the people in Test Nations of the useless format of the 2015 World Cup and how it somehow favored weak team like Ireland to take advantage of Rain, some one off matches and somehow win the world cup. There will be talks to giving the world cup it's right size and not the huge 2 month drag format.
A 10 team 2019 world cup would not satisfy them because the number of matches has not reduced. So a perfect representative World Cup of 4 Nations - India, Australia & England get automatic entry and 1 spot open for rest of the World. After all it is a World Cup and representation of World is required (Pun Intended)

4. India, Aus, Eng get super member status
Getting Cricket on the right path would be very much required. These 3 countries who contribute 95% of the money want their money to be safeguarded and threaten to go on their own. Under pressure the boards agree to the same and these 3 get super member status. From the next world cup (Which is 4 nation as we remember) they get an direct entry. For T20 World Cup, they get directly into the Semi's. For Test World Cup, no other country is worthy of playing it and is 3 team closed affair.
Well cricket is where it should be, back to colonial times as the Big 3 wanted.

5. David Cameroon Government Falls
With the Paddies winning core English game their is uproar in England. They watched with pain when Windies won it. Then land of Seditious Fakir(India) won it, they still accepted it. Aussies winning meant raging people. The Colonial outposts Pakistan and Sri Lanka winning had the pot almost full. But now it was the next neighbor and people would not be able to face such a site. The country is upset at England not being able to save it's culture and the huge protests force government to fall

6. North Ireland chooses to leave United Kingdom
This win gives a new hope in North Ireland. They no longer want to be associated with the Main Island since they are even better than them in Cricket. Hence it is decided and North Ireland chooses to leave UK

7. IPL finally gets Kevin O'Brien
Suddenly he is wanted by all the teams. The IPL teams line up for him and he finally makes his IPL debut. In fact KOB get's so much popular that so many products are behind him to be doing commercials for them


8. Ireland get it's first World Cup
They have not won it in Rugby Union or League, they have not done it in Football. Gaelic Football doesn't have a World Cup. So this would be a first World Cup for Ireland.


9. Irish Whiskey Ahoy, Ireland a Indian Tourist Hotspot
Suddenly there would be a big craze for Irish Whiskey in India.

Rumor would be people who drink it have sudden rise to power. There would be talks of Ireland as a magical land, and suddenly Indians would be visiting Ireland for Holidays.

Then there would be few who would realize the beauty of Ireland after all it will be all in news for all the reasons and would want to visit it

10. Wales cricket team is formed
Till now the Welsh ignored the fact that they play as part of England. Suddenly with Ireland winning the World Cup, the Welsh realize that they infact are a older cricket playing nation, they have more clubs, they have more players, better infrastructure and if Ireland can do it, they surely can. In an overnight session, Wales Parliament passes a motion to separate from England Cricket team

This article has been written in light humor and does not intent to hurt the feeling of anyone. It wishes to highlight some irony's in World Cricket. Kindly read it for fun and not get serious behind it :) Enjoy

5 events in Associate Cricket which changed World Cricket

 There have been many incidents in Associate Cricket if which went in opposite order would have changed the whole world order in Cricket. Many of these incidents will come as a surprise to the Youth of Cricket who know Cricket as just probably 6-7 Good Teams and 3 Minnow Test teams whom they will not see their country play and perhaps a Kenya and a Ireland or maybe now have got a glance of Afghanistan.

Perhaps the events that will be mentioned below if had happened, then the whole scenario of World Cricket would have been different. Although there can be many more but I have listed the top 5, and like a curtain-raiser I will go from No 5 to No 1.

5. Argentina not Invited for ICC Membership
This name would perhaps bring most number of surprises. Very few people know that Argentina was once considered a decent cricket team of the level of probably New Zealand at that time. Argentina had the largest population of English outside Britain. When ICC was formed it was formed as Imperial Cricket Council and membership was limited to British Empire only and Argentina was not eligible. With passing of time the game simply went into decline
If Argentina has been an ICC member then the game surely could have some footing just has been the case with Rugby and Hockey in Argentina. It would have also meant Spanish playing cricket country widely opening the Cricket market and Cricket could have been much bigger game but alas!!

This could have been a picture of a major cricket team talking in Spanish-Ola

 4. Canada postponing Test Membership
Another shocker for you :) . Well in the 1950's ICC made up it's mind to offer Test Cricket to Canada. After all Canada was a major Commonwealth Country and cricket had a long history here. However Canada felt that it would need some more time to develop it's cricket and guess what that time never came and the boat was missed.
Imagine if Canada had been a Test Nation, it would have meant Cricket would have been a major game in North America and perhaps a lot of influence on sports in USA too. Did we miss a Canada- West Indies Rivalry for the future.

Imagine Canada playing against Australia in Boxing day Test

3. Ireland WC Victory over Pakistan
Pakistan one of the favorites of the tournament. Ireland, virtually an unknown team. It is St Patrick's day, an Important day for Ireland and many Irish fans in the ground. Pakistan was bowled out in 130's and that was a shocker, but Ireland began to crumble. That was not long to be, Ireland stumbling but crossed the finish line and created history.

They never knew their hard earned victory would bring misery for Associates

 This should have made ICC happy with cricket improving but it had the exact opposite impact. ICC for next world cup cut the teams from 16 to 14 and the process of Elitism gained hold. This was to be further strengthened when ICC almost made a decision to make 2015 WC a 10 Test Playing World Cup only but the team which started it actually came to rescue when it chased down England by magic effort of Kevin O'Brien.
 

2. Cricket missing out in Olympics
Cricket was only played once in Olympic with Great Britain taking the gold and France taking the silver. This event was never repeated.

Do we need to say anything on this

 Imagine with cricket in Olympics would have meant that many countries would have taken the game and much more money and support from the government for Cricket. Well it is a chance missed and ICC still does not want Cricket in Olympics!!!

1. Imperial Cricket Conference- USA not invited 
Cricket at one time was very popular game in USA, but as everything British was opposed hence was cricket. However cricket remained a strong games in various pockets like Philipdeplhia, New York and some areas and continued to thrive there. The game surely needed support in form of exchange of games with England and other countries.
But what happened, ICC never invited USA as it's member and game went into a big slide. Imagine with US the biggest sports economy involved in the game, it would have put game in a different league.

Obama could have been No 1 fan of Lara!!!!

 I many times imagine what the game would have been with Argentina, Canada & USA playing the boxing day test with Australia or fighting a T20 olympics game with China. Well only if & buts were true.

10 Countries where ICC should invest in

Cricket has been rapidly expanding around the globe. There are now highest ever 106 members of ICC with another 10 ready to join. There are talks of getting it in Olympics and the IOC chief really wants that too happen

But there is another side. The ICC revenue's primarily comes from one country India. There are not many countries from where ICC earns much. Perhaps the other surplus countries for ICC are Australia, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh & South Africa.

The ICC works on a system where the profit it makes, is distributed amongst the 10 Test Nations and other 96 Associate/Affiliate Members in form of development money. This is in tune of approximately 7.5 M$/Yr to a Test Nation, 0.6-0.7 M$ to Top Associates, 0.4 to HPP Members, 0.1 to Associates and just 0.015 to Affiliate Members. This money is major source of income for almost all the 106 members baring a few named above. Without the aid the cricket in countries would simply collapse.

So this brings in a question, can ICC risk the present structure. In my opinion a big NO & for the following reason- All the eggs in one basket- India. If tomorrow another sport rivals Cricket in India it would directly impact the source of money for ICC and it could be disastrous.

So ICC is like a financial company who should want to hedge it's risk. So based on the factors of Sports Economy, present interest, History of game in all the countries, I have picked a list of 10 countries. Some countries presently are in good shape when it comes to cricket's standing in the country, but might not be very big countries. These countries are like low hanging fruits, where ICC should quickly work, and make the country self sustainable. Whatever little additional income these countries bring would mean ICC is earning and not spending in these countries
The second set of the countries would be where game might have some base, but if established there would bring ICC loads of revenue's

So let me share with you, the 10 countries where ICC should definitely invest for the future

1. Ireland
Obviously it is the first country which comes in mind. 2 successful World Cups, has made news both inside the country and outside. The win over England was covered on the front pages of all the newspapers. It is where ICC should invest in 2 ways, first is to get the team more matches with Test Nations which bring some revenue's and secondly a domestic structure.

2. Scotland
The Scots have really worked hard on the youth and many good players are coming in. Cricket has a strong tradition in the country and the future looks good. Like Ireland ICC needs to get them more matches. Also like the case of Rugby, where Wales, Scotland & Ireland have a combined domestic structure, ICC should work and establish a similar Structure for Scotland, Ireland & Netherlands and if need be extend it to Denmark & Wales.

3. Canada
The game is now well known in the country thanks to the absolute cricket loving 1.4 Million South Asian out of a population of 4%. Just imagine even if another 10% of country starts following cricket it would mean a population more than New Zealand. The game has been making right noises. The World T20 will be broadcast live on a major sports channel. This country needs some focus from ICC and it can be a major revenue earning country for ICC

4. Afghanistan
War ravaged, Terrorism, Taliban. Perhaps not the country you might be thinking for ICC to invest in. But do you know, that it has been one of the fastest emerging team. The Afghans are naturally talented. This can be seen by some of the best talent of Fast Bowlers emerging from the country. It must be noted that the legendary Pakistani fast bowlers are from the same tribes as the Afghans.
War or no war, this country once this teams goes raring there is no stopping. ICC urgently needs to get them more exposure in matches with top nations and their A teams

5. Nepal
The country has one of the biggest following of the game. When the team recently won the ICC WCL Div 4, thousands of fans turned at the Airport to welcome the team. Whenever they play a match in Nepal, 15000 people turn in the stadium.

Such level of crowd support can not be met by many Test Nations. These are placed where ICC needs to work faster

The game is the no 1 game like the other South Asian nations. The biggest investment ICC needs in the country is in form of a Stadium and help them establish domestic structure. With these investment the country can soon join the likes of top nations soon.

6. USA
USA doesn't need any explanations. The biggest sports economy in the world. For Cricket surprisingly the second highest internet earnings come from USA after India!!! The game is presently not in a healthy state in the country because of a pathetic Cricket board whose only job looks to be clinging to power and eating whatever money they have. The ICC investment besides monetary should be to get USACA, their board in order and then things will just flow.

7. Kenya
They had shown promise. ICC did not focus on them and then they lost their way. The country surely has got talent. Their board is now taking some steps to improve the game, but like most associate they also need exposure to better teams.

8. Netherlands
Netherlands can be the gateway of the game into mainland Europe, presently it is limited to British Isles. Netherlands have a strong cricketing culture but ICC needs to help developing the game at junior level and as already discussed help establish a Euro Domestic league involving Scot & Ire. If the game picks here then it is bound to spread to Denmark, Belgium & France. So this country is like the gateway to mainland Europe

9. China
China is the future. It is the superpower of sports. If China takes the game that means 20% of humanity has taken the game and along with South Asia that means half of the world is there. Not only by number of people, China is full of money and ICC can earns loads from here. What does ICC need to do, well simple, get the games in Olympics. We all know once the game is in Olympics China will get everything in it. Besides that ICC surely need to create many Coaching centers and Coached around the country which is the best way to spread the game. ICC would have to invest atleast for 10 years before expecting any returns

10 Argentina
Surprised. Well do you know before the World War, the Argentina Cricket team was almost as powerful as say the Kiwis. They had the largest British Population outside Britain. The game has a long history and at once time the game was more popular than Football. But with ICC's insistence of making members from commonwealth and British expats leaving the country, led to decline of the game.
Now why Argentina, the answer is simple. Cricket has got it's strongholds in all continents except South America. Also Cricket is to make a strong in Hispanic countries. So Argentina is the doorway. If the game develops here, then it has a good chance of taking it to South and Central America.

The ICC surely is doing some work but it is more general in nature. ICC needs to pick up countries as project and close them for maximum impact and let's hope it happens soon.

Associate XI in U19 WC based on Performance

The U19 WC is almost over. The Associates could not make it to the next round but there have been some good associate performances. Specially there have been some players who have stood firm and challenged the opposite teams.

The Associate XI have been formed based on the Overall Performance of the players, the consistency they have been showing and the value of their contributions in the match. You will not players who had one match winning performance and in the rest of the tournament were not to be seen. After all if I was a selector I will look on the overall performances.

The Associate XI has 6 Batsman, 1 om whom can do part time Bowling, 1 All Rounder & 4 Specialist bowlers including 2 Fast Bowler & 2 Spinners.

1. Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan)

This batsman was the backbone for Afghanistan batting line up. With his 204 in the tournament including a solid 69 against a close game against NZ & a critical 83 in a very critical match against the Scots this was the batsman the team could depend upon. This young lad has already made International Debut and he would be the star to look in the future.Today we maybe seeing him in action against Australia in a ODI

2. Javed Ahmadi (Afghanistan)

This right hand batsman is the highest scorer for Associates in the tournament. He was specially effective against Scotland with a century & half century against them. He also tried to resist against Pakistan and was handy with the ball taking some wickets. Like his counterpart he has already played for Afghanistan and maybe we see him in action against Australia in the only ODI at Sharjah.

3. CN Kent (PNG)

This young all rounder was the backbone for PNG. He got it all both a century and a five wicket haul and contributed in almost all the matches either with his batting or bowling. Like the Afghanistan players above he is also a member of PNG senior squad. Hopefully in near future he would be able to take his team to higher levels.

4. RE McLean (Scotland)

He is a great find for Scotland for future. He was the second highest scorer for the Associates with 2 half centuries. He performed very well in the league stages with a 36, 59 & 67 against NZ, Pak & Afg and then a swanky 47 against regional rivals Ireland ensuring a successful chase taking Scots to victory and securing 11th position for them. Looking for this name in future.

5. TE Kane (Ireland)

The Ireland batting has really disappointing tournament with not a single good performance to their name. He was the backbone of his team batting and ensured he was there stubbornly and fighting from his side like his 78 against Scotland which took Ireland to a respectable score. He also chipped in with his bowling and took a single wicket in all but one match.

6. FRJ Coleman (Scotland)

He was the mainstay of Scottish batting in the league stage with scores of 65, 39 & 30 and along with his team mate McLean ensured taking the Scots to respectable scores.

7. SP Khakurel (Nepal)

A team whose batting failed almost every-time with 2 times in double digits, it was encouraging to find a batsman who was fighting it out. Like TE Kane, SP Kakurel was the backbone of Nepali batting. His 55 against England showed the class this batsman had performing against a quality opposition. Nepal over the years have lost a lot of U19 players and I hope this batsman is not lost.

8. GH Dockrell (Ireland)

This young spinner has impressed everybody in the 2011 WC making even the top batsman struggle against him. He had high hopes to overcome and surely he exceeded expectations with a whopping tournament highest 22 Maiden overs, an Economy 2.05, and an Average of 12.3. His 22 Maiden & 2.05 Economy is far better than even players from Test Nations which can be seen from figures like 10-6-10-1 against Aus (Who are in Finals), 10-3-22-4 against Nepal, 10-5-8-1 against Namibia, 10-4-22-1 against Scotland. He was also handy with the bat. He surely is class and I said earlier would love to see him playing Test Cricket for Ireland one day

9. RK Vishvakarma (Nepal)

He was the third highest wicket taker in the tournament (An he played 1 match less). Against PNG he simply ripped them apart. The figures 6.2-4-3-6 speaks volume of his class, an economy of 0.47 the second best in U19 WC history. Lets hope to see the player ripping apart opposition in the WCL Div 4 the next tournament Nepal is playing

10. RAJ Smith (Scotland)

He was the second highest wicket taker for Associates with 12 wickets in the tournament. He spearheaded Scottish bowling with his Medium Pace specially with his 3/34 against Kiwis & 4/45 against the Afghans. He surely is another great find for Scotland who are really focusing on the youth. Hopefully we would be seeing him trouble the likes of Kohli's in the future.

11. Sayed Shirzad (Afghanistan)

Afghanistan has produced some great pace talents and Sayed Shirzad can be one of them. This speedster just knocked out the batsman at other end. His 4/34 against NZ & 3/33 against Scotland were clinical performances. Hopefully we can see him in action along with Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran soon


We should keep an track for all these players as many of them can turn out to be future stars for their country. Best of luck to all the players.

Associate Performer Squad Round 1- 2012 ICC U19 WC

The 2012 U19 is presently underway. The Associates teams sadly could not do very good. Each of the Associate team lost to the full members. Some of the matches specially of Scotland and Afghanistan have been close by overall the Associates were simply thrashed.


However said that there were few Associate Stars who showed their class. Given more exposure these players can turn out to be world class stars.

The performances of Associate players in round 1 would be of greater significance as these were against the stronger better side. The difference between Great and Good players is that Great player will show their mettle against a very good opposition while it may not be the case for Good players

The Associate Performers team is a list of 14 players who despite their teams performances performed well and showed their class

1. R.E. Mclean (Scotland)

3 Matches against quality opposition of Pak, NZ & Afg, this man was the backbone of batting with scores of 36, 59 & 67. He acted as the pivotal role in batting with a consistent performance and the team rallied around him. He surely is class and we hope to see him performing at the top level

2. FRJ Coleman (Scotland)

He was a second pivot of the Scottish Batting. As his teammate he was consistent in batting in all 3 matches with scores of 65, 39 & 30 bailing the team out in difficult conditions. Though the team has been losing causes we surely will look to his performances in the Plate rounds.

3. Sayed Shirzad (Afghanistan)

This young gun from Afghanistan was the Highest Wicket taker in the Group Stage ending with impressive figures of 4/35 and 3/33 against NZ & Scot. He simply ripped apart the opposition without conceding many runs. If he continues this way he surely would be next Hamid Hassan for Afghanistan

4. CN Kent (PNG)

PNG were ripped apart in each match specially in Batting but this young all rounder resisted the opposition often missing company at other end ending with scores of 24, 39 & 27 against Zim, WI & Ind when the team never crossed 200. He also had a 5 wicket haul against Zimbabwe. Hopefully he would help PNG make into World Cup in near future.


5. CA Soper (PNG)

This young bowler was the PNG mainstay in the Bowling department and also chipping in batting at critical stages. He had a 5 wicket haul against 2 time champions India and restricting them to a score of just crossing 200. In the match against WI, where PNG just managed 100+ score his 23 was critical in PNG crossing 100.

6. GH Dockrell (Ireland)

Australia ripped apart England, Nepal and Ireland in the tournament but here was a person who simply ripped the Aussies. The Impressive figure of 10-6-10-1 tells how much Aussie's were scared of him and their simple strategy was "Avoid Dockrell". This young lad and captain of Ireland had already impressed everyone with his bowling in 2011 World Cup and was very critical in Irish Performances. Not only in bowling where his 4/22 broke the back of Nepal he chipped in with his batting at critical stages like his 26 against England





7. RAJ Smith (Scotland)

This bowler was impressive ending with 3/43 & 4/45 against NZ & Afg. He also hung around with a impressive 34 against Pakistan. The Scots have many young promising talent and he is one of them for the future.

8. RK Vishwakarma (Nepal)

This young lad has been the backbone and consistent performer for Nepal despite his team having a  disastrous outing. His bowling troubled the batsman with he ending with figures of 2/50, 2/31 & 3/63 against Aus, Ire & Eng was critical in getting much required breaks for Nepal. He was very critical with batting when Nepal struggled scoring 32 & 20 against Ire and Eng. If Nepal is to get more exposure in future, this young man is the real potential for them and hopefully will not be lost like many talent lost in past


9. TE Kane (Ireland)

This all rounder has critical knocks in batting where Ireland were struggling. When Ireland managed all 3 scores in 100's this man scored 28, 21 & 39 in the 3 matches and was able to take wickets too in every match. His 6.3-1-13-1 was critical in choking Nepal and winning the match for Ireland by 14 Runs. Hopefully we should continue to see him in green and not lost to England like so many players have been lost

10. Afsar Khan (Afghanistan)

This sturdy batsman was rock solid in his 42 & 44 against NZ & Scotland. He was also critical inn the fielding taking 5 catches some of which were very critical. Afghanistan should work on him and realize his full potential.

11. W van Vuuren

Namibia had one of the most terrible tournament where they were thrashed 3 times in all the matches but Vuuren was one of the handful performers for the team. His all round performance against SL helped team build some creditability with his 38 & 2/65. He also hung around with his 20 against BD

12. Yamin Ahmadzai (Afghanistan)

His 7 wickets in the Group Stage with a 4/35 against helped in forming a deadly pair with Sayed Shirzad. The rate at which the pace bowling talent is coming from Afghanistan is very heartening to see. He is surely a potential who can be seen soon playing for the Senior Side in near future


13. SP Khakurel (Nepal)

His 55 against England helped Nepal to end up with a decent score and not ending in 2 digits like against Australia. His 31 against Ireland was not enough to see the team through for a victory. If there is one person who is a bright spot in the Nepal batting in U19 WC this is the Guy. Would love to see him playing at senior level soon



14. Z Groenewald (Namibia)

He is one of the first player to come from the black community in the country where the game is dominated by the White people and it was heartening to see the game spreading in Namibia.  On top of that he was one of the 2 performers for his team who with his 6 wickets gave the team some tooth. His 26 & 19 against SA & BD were also fighting performances in though which were pretty much losing causes.

This team of 14 surely must be nurtured by ICC for the future. ICC could give them Scholarships or Central contracts and give them global exposure which would help them grow and help their teams to grow and perform at international stages. Best of luck to these stars.

Who will win the ICC Twenty20 Qualifiers?

This is a very difficult question and the right answer is really difficult to guess. It is a tournament with too many teams and too little slots to fill. Over that the teams are all really competitive with almost all teams on their day have capability to defeat all other teams. However said that not all teams have an equal chance. Given the squads, exposure of various team I would put the chances as follows

THE FAVORITES
1. IRELAND
They are the most popular associates and clearly the favorites. They have got a great intelligent Captain who makes the most of the resources. The resources definitely are exciting lead by the dangerous Kevin O'Brien famous for his fastest century in the World Cup or the young and Exciting George Dockrell. The team has the talent and it will be tough be tough for most teams to overcome this talent

Can O'Brien repeat the performance. Let's hope so

2. AFGHANISTAN
They are a nation filled with passion for Cricket. Cricket unites this war ravaged country and the cricketers are the national stars. Afghanistan has one of the most potent talents who on their day can take on the mightiest names in Cricket. A fiery pace attack led by Hamid Hassan who can easily made place in most of the test sides or the calm and composed captain Nawroz Mangal, they would be making the most likely finalist with Ireland

He can single handily rip apart any Line Up

3. SCOTLAND
Surprised to hear this name. The Scots have a flourishing team whose average age is 24. The team stayed away from limelight as they missed out for 2011 WC, but in 2011 they have a performance that needs to looked into. They have played 4 ODI's and won 3, 2 against Netherlands and 1 against Ireland. They lost the 1 match to Sri Lanka. This is a team with real power works and taking them lightly is asking for trouble

GOOD BETS
1. NETHERLANDS
Surprised this name is not there in the favorites, well don't be. The biggest name and star is not playing the qualifiers, yes we are talking of ten Doeschate is not playing and hence this clearly puts them off the field of favorites. Having said that the team has still got some good talent and surely have a clear chance to make it to Sri Lanka

Netherlands surely will miss him

2. KENYA
Are you judging them by their performance in 2011 WC, well if the answer is yes, then my recommendation don't be fooled by that.  After the disastrous campaign the management has put all ticks in the preparation for this tournament. Firstly they formed the domestic structure which was important. Then they have given the young players loads of exposure which is very critical. The results have not coming in full swings but surely there are good signs. The visiting Irish team did not have it easy for the Inter Continental Matches.

3. CANADA
The performance surely have dropped after the World Cup with the loss of a great player like Ashish Bagai. They are down but never out. With some exciting players like Harvinder Baidwan, Jimmy Hansra or Manny Aulakh and they on their day can take any other team.

A leader lost?

4. NAMIBIA
When Kenya visited them they smashed them 6-2 in a T20 series. Presently they get to play in the Domestic Series in South Africa, whose experience they surely are relishing and the performance can be seen on the field. They have played in a World Cup once and surely would want to reach the top level again. The Burger's form would be critical for the team

PARTY SPOILERS
Here I would like to put teams who have a bleak chance of making into the World T20 but surely can spoil the party of teams who would be running towards it. The big names have to beware of them

1. PNG
The team is a result of hard work put in at Junior level. PNG have a great youth program with largest number of players involved in any Associate. The team has a great bowling line up. The one area where have opportunity is Batting and with former England Wicket Keeper Batsman Greaint Jones, surely makes them a very very dangerous team.

Will he be the X Factor for PNG

2. HONG KONG
Like PNG and Scotland this is a team made from developing the youth. It is a very young team which were the runners up in the Asian region and gave a very close fight to Afghanistan in the finals. They surely can never be taken lightly at any momemt

3. NEPAL
They have the biggest fan base amongst the Associates, a nation filled with passion for the game of Cricket. They got a new coach who was responsible for transforming Canada and doing all things right to do the same in Nepal. The coach is getting good exposure for the team before hits Dubai. The team is the best at Junior Levels who have defeated the likes of SA, BD, NZ & WI and people are hoping that they will this time transform the performance at senior level

He is a local star. Can he make it in International Stage, an area he desrves

4. UGANDA
If we talk of upcoming teams one thing is common amongst them. Be it  Scotland, PNG, HK, Nepal or Uganda. The development of youth is the key for success. The party spoiling could be seen at the African Division One where they defeated the Party of the better rated Namibia and won the tournament. They also made the right noises when their both Franchise's reached the finals in the EAPL. They have been traditional chokers, but this is the tag they would be hoping to get rid of.

5. BERMUDA
Remember a fat man taking a diving catch. Yes it was Bermuda itself. They have tasted the top level once and surely would be wanting to do that again for the most popular game of the country. The team surely have got great talents like David Hemp. Let's see how they fare in their biggest tournament of the year

6. USA
The nation is the second biggest market for Cricket in the world. There are over 20000 active players in the country. The country has got the mix of experience of India, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia and England. The team had once surprised the critics and reached the Champion Trophy. But, a big But the limitation is that the sports is run like a personal fiefdom under Mr Dainty where merit is often ignored. Having said that there are certainly some very talented players who can give a run for money to all the top teams in the tournament

Will US Cricket be luck enough to get rid of this sloppy faced Dictator

THE FILLERS
OMAN is a team formed of all but some expats. The team is aging and in T20 format that is not helpful

DENMARK joined the ranks of Scotland and Netherlands but over time the game somehow lost out. The nation has got some talent but I do not expect much action from them

ITALY is a upcoming team which draws its strength from likes of immigrants or overseas players of Italian origin. They overseas players are it X factor but I do not expect them miraculously reach Sri Lanka. Some wins here and there but not much besides that.


Finally this tournament will be a cracker of the tournament. Let us hope the best team makes it to Sri Lanka

Celtic League: A way to expand cricket in Europe?

In recent years we have seen some news in European Cricket that can shape the future of cricket in the continent. First is the resurgence of Irish cricket and their dramatic chase against England in world cup. Along with that the game has made right noises in Netherlands where the performance in world cup has helped cricket to stop it's downfall, while the Scots have been doing really good. Though they failed to make it to the world cup, but then after that made to finals of Intercontinental cup, teams performing very well in matches against Neth, Ire and other ODI and the junior team making it to the World Cup the game surely is on a roll

Besides that there have been lots of talks in Welsh Parliament about a separate Welsh team under the Gambit of ECB which even though is a English and Wales team, but conveniently remove Wales. Who knows soon over time like the Scots who went independent may soon happen for Welsh too.

England winning Ashes back to back also is coming at a right time bringing attention for cricket across Europe.

Celtic League is the place Cricket Should look upto

However the most encouraging news has been initial talks between Scotland and Irish cricket boards over the formation of a Celtic League. This idea is not a new one. We have recently seen a very successful East African Trophy and Premier League involving 4 teams from Kenya and 2 from Uganda. The tournament which started without sponsors or broadcaster before the end of tournament had both. The rebellious players who on seeing the success of the tournament apologized and are planning to come back. But where did the idea of Celtic League or East African tournament come? Both the Celtic League and East African tournaments came from a game that cricket should learn a lot of things from- Rugby

The Celtic league is already a very successful tournament that involves teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales & Italy. This tournament which started in 2001 has picked up popularity over time and become the only first class tournament of these nations. It has also helped to have the first professional teams in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There have been some downsides where some professional clubs could not balance the sheets and hence were dissolved. The mistakes of the tournament can studied and ensured that they are not repeated

Cricket should definitely pick this brilliant experience and go for a similar league not just for Ireland and Scotland but even go further and have more nations as a part of it. Presently England with its 18 counties is the only place where professional Cricket is possible in Europe. European laws make that easy for these team to allow their players in county cricket but that has its risk of losing players to England. As an alternative professional set up to come to levels of county cricket is not possible if Ireland or Scotland go alone or together but lies in the fact that Wales, Netherlands and Denmark are brought into the fold

Professional set up depends on 2 major factors:- 1. The Economy of the countries i.e GDP of the countries, 2. The level of Interest- Are people willing to come to watch the game. The number of teams from each country should be based on both these factors. The fact can be seen that in Celtic League(Rugby), with a economy of 226 B$ Ireland had 4 teams while Wales with a GDP of 73 B$ had 5 teams and what happened? Even though Rugby would be slightly more popular in Wales than Ireland but soon the clubs started failing as they could not find money to sustain.

Going by the present Populations, Interest Levels and GDP the best format would be 4 teams from Ireland , 3 teams from Scotland, 2 from Wales, 2 from Netherlands and 1 from Denmark. This set up would help provide a much bigger population and economical base to sustain the game both in quality and monetary terms.This will help provide an alternate to County with more opportunities for domestic players.

The 12 teams can be as follows
Ireland:- Similar structure as Rugby Union: Ulster (Belfast), Munster (Cork), Leinster (Dublin) & Connacht (Galway)
Scotland:- The recently started 3 team tournament is the perfect way to go ahead: North (Aberdeen), West (Glasgow / Ayr), East (Edinburg)
Wales:- Presently only 1 county takes part in County championships. To increase participation it should be increased to 2 teams:Cardiff & Swansea (Glamorgan)
Netherlands:- The recently started North vs South competition is a perfect platform to go Celtic: North (Amstelveen) & South(Rotterdam)
Denmark:- Cricket is a very lower interest level, hence the whole national team should take part to ensure a competitive tournament. The capital Copenhagen is a perfect place.

The tournament may not be initially having the resources to go completely professional so can start as semi professional. Also since most of the places have stadiums Home and Away would be the best format. Any further expansion is very much possible in Netherlands and Denmark if it helps raise the profile of game in the country. Finally like Rugby the tournament should be run by a company with stakes of all the boards and an independent director. If cricket goes professional in these countries then it can pave the way for Euro Cup and further raise the profile of game.

Lets  hope the first step of Celtic Cup containing 6 teams of Scotland and Ireland goes ahead becomes a success like East African tournaments. I surely will be watching this space

Why a 14 Nation ODI WC meant a World T20 of 12 Nations

When the ICC reversed its decision of the 10 nations 2015 WC to 14 nation everybody felt happy. The Associates thought they had won the war. But what they saw next meant that ICC had settled scores. Although they had increased the number of teams in 50 overs format, shocking in T20 they cut the number of teams from 16 to 12.

This meant that over a cycle of 4 years where earlier the associates had 6+6+0=12 chances of playing, now it was reduced to 2+2+4=8 slots. Further if ICC had opened bottom 2 slots in 10 nation world cup then it would have meant 14 slots.

T20 was proclaimed as the driver to drive cricket into new market. Most of the upcoming nations also agree to the same.Then why did ICC cut the number in T20 contradicting itself. According to ICC version this came due to cost factor. According to ICC there is a total cost package and increase in 50 over to 14 teams meant they had to compensate the costs and had to reduce the no of teams in T20

Is this the real reason. Can the ICC not afford both a 14 nation World Cup and 2 16 nations World T20. According to me they can easily do that. The cost of staging a 16 nation or 12 nation T20 cup does not increase the cost significantly.

The real reason is another cost that ICC has to bear. Whenever ICC conducts a tournament it has the right to sponsorship, TV Revenue's, gate collections and all other sources of income. The hosts get a hosting fee. Like for 2011 CWC SL got 23 M$ as hosting fee. Similarly Ind and BD got some amounts. The other Test Nations get a participating fee. The associates participating in the World Cups also get a participating fee but which is significantly very less as compared to Test Nations.

To take to reference in 2010 World T20 every Test nation got 6 M$ (WI Got 6M$+ Hosting fee) and the 2 Associates got around 0.6 M$.

From the 2012 and 2014 World T20, the 10 Test Nations & 6 qualifiers would have got similar amount of money. That would have meant 10X6+6X 0.6= 63.6 M$ as participating cost for each tournament and for the 2015 WC around 10 M$ to each member each of 10 Test Nations playing i.e 10X10= 100 M$. This means that ICC would have the total cost of 227.2 M$.

Each of the test nations would have got 22 M$ over 4 years. That is life line for many boards like SL, WI, Zim.

In the present scenario a 12 nation T20 means that due to cost saving each of the full member get 6.5 M$ each while 2 Qualifiers get 0.65 M$ each a Total Cost of 66.3 M$. The 2015 WC will now give each member 9.0 M$ and qualifiers around 0.9 M$ hence a total cost of 93.6 M$

Now each of the test nations gets again 22 M$. If a 14 Nation 50 Over WC and 16 Nation T20 trophy was there that would have meant that the income of each board reducing to 21 M$, a whopping 1 M$ loss. This would have been a significant loss to at least 5 of the boards where this income is more than 30% of the boards income.

Hence it is ultimately the greed to the member nations that have lead to this decision and not the total cost factor. Hence this also proves ICC should run like a independent body and not like a body with members who will always think of their interests rather than for the overall good of the game.

If anyone had some brains they should have gone of a 12 nation WC or 10 nations with 2 qualifiers and a 16 nation T20. I criticize the decision of ICC and term it as pathetic.

Time to have a Test Championship

A Test Championship has been talked about for years. ICC wants to have one so that they can use it to revive the dwindling interest in the Purest form of cricket. If Test Cricket dies it is no doubt cricket will be poorer in quality. The Batting Temperament and bowlers ability to take 20 Wickets would be lost. A Team which would win the Test Championship will be no doubt the best cricket team of the time. T20 and ODI matches can be lost to 1 bad hour but that chance is highly unlikely in Test Cricket. Hence a Test Championship is really essential for cricket.

Having said that having the test championship has various challenges. A Test Match may take 5 days to finish. It may result in a draw. Also there are 10 Test Teams and it may take ages for such a tournament to finish. Then if Test Championship is held in 1 country then neutral test matches will have no crowds. Then to sponsor such tournament will be a challenge. Already there is a busy international schedule and fitting such a long tournament will be virtually impossible.

A 10 team Test Championship as seen would be very difficult to conduct and not sustainable. To make the Test Championship the no of slots should be such that the teams need to fight it out. As we have seen some teams clearly are behind the others the number is clearly less than 10.
The Test Cricket should have no compromise on quality and if I try to classify the present teams then Good Teams would be:- Ind, Aus, SA, Eng and Maybe SL. Average Teams would be Pak, NZ and NZ and BD and Zim as the bad teams. The no of Teams can vary between 4 to 8 and I would like to have just 4 slots so that no team is just guaranteed to qualify unless a shock happens. 4 teams also would mean that scheduling of the tournament would be easy and tournament is not extended.

Also presently there are various Test Series played by various Test nations. Over 6 year cycle each country is supposed to play a Test with all other 9 test nations. This has resulted in various meaningless series like BD touring Aus or SA V WI series where BD and WI just got thrashing and crowd interest was minimal.

The Test Championship can be a perfect answer and give a solution to many problems. Over 4 year all the teams should be mandated to play at least 3 test against all test nations. Then Test would contribute to points on the points table and the Top 4 teams would qualify for WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP

Also to add more excitement and meritocracy to the Cricket Setup the team which comes last would be relegated to Tier 2 or present set up of Intercontinental Cup. The team which comes 9th in the pool would play a 3 test match series against the team which comes second in Tier 2 or Intercontinental Cup.

For the knowledge of the readers Intercontinental Cup is a 4 day match, First Class tournament for the top associates. The present IC Cup starts on 29th June, 2011 with Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Afghanistan, UAE, Kenya, Namibia and Canada playing in it.

Like if Zim come 9th and BD 10th in main table and Ireland win IC Cup and Kenya come second then Ireland get promoted as Test Nation for next 4 years and BD loose Test Status and then Zim and Ken play a 3 test match series. The excitement created can also help create excitement for Test Cricket in new nations.

This system would mean that even a Aus V BD can be exciting in some sense. The case may be if that Aus do not win 3-0 they do not come in top 4 and miss on qualification to World Test Championship while BD need to draw a Test i.e worse case of 2-0 to come 9th and avoid direct relegation. Even this test series would create excitement with Aus going all guns to win 3-0 while BD fighting to secure a draw. The draw will be a win for them. This would be better than present scenario where a draw would mean a draw.

But then comes another challenge:- Aus plays Ashes every 2 years with England and that is of 5 Test. We cannot simply change a tradition and then out of 10 tests cannot say we will pick these 3 test and rest 7 are for your series. Also Aus will play SA, Eng more often then a SL or BD.

We should have fixed max no of points that Aus can gain from playing tests against England. Over period of 4 years all Aus V Eng tests will contribute to a max of 20 points. Similarly other 8 test teams also Aus can earn a max of 20 pts whether they play 10 Tests or 3 Tests. This means a team can earn a max of 180 Points (Like in ODI world in a group at team could earn 12 points).

Then dividing the 20 points should be based on each and every test. This would make each test equally important. Here we look to a the point system now used by Test nations rather towards the Associates!!!! We use the point system used in Intercontinental Cup to divide the 20 points.

• Win – 14 points
• Draw if more than 10 hours of play lost – 7 points (otherwise 3 points)
• First Innings leader – 6 points (independent of final result)
• Abandoned without a ball played – 10 points  

To take the example of how points will be divided I take the example of Aus V Eng Ashes (5 Tests) and Aus V Ind Test Series (2 Tests).

ASHES

1st Test
Eng:- 260/10
Aus:-481/10
Eng:-517/1
Aus:-107/1
Match Drawn
Eng:- 3 Pts, Aus:- 9 Pts

2nd Test
Aus:- 245/10
Eng:- 620/5 Dec
Aus:- 304/10
Eng won by Innings and 70 Runs
Eng:- 20 Pts, Aus:- 0 Pts

3rd Test
Aus:- 268/10
Eng:- 187/10
Aus:- 309/10
Eng:- 123/10
Aus won by 267 Runs
Eng:- 0 Pts, Aus:- 20 Pts

4th Test
Aus:- 98/10
Eng:- 513/10
Aus:- 258/10
Eng Won by innings and 157 Runs
Eng:- 20 Pts, Aus:- 0 Pts

5th Test
Aus:- 280/10
Eng:- 644/10
Aus:- 281/10
Eng won by innings and 83 runs
Eng:- 20 Pts, Aus:- 0 Pts

In the end of the series Eng:- 63 Pts, Aus:- 29 Pts. Since the max point any team can gain is 20 points hence these points would be divided in the same ratio. Hence Eng:- 13.70 Pts and Aus:- 6.30 Pts.

If we take the previous tour of Aus to India
1st Test
Aus:- 428/10
Ind:- 405/10
Aus:- 192/10
Ind:- 216/9
India won by 1 wicket
Aus:- 6 Pts, India:- 14 Pts

2nd Test
Aus:- 478/10
Ind:- 495/10
Aus:- 223
Ind;- 207/3
India won by 7 wickets
Aus:- 0 Pts, India:- 20 Pts

At the end of the series Aus:- 6 Pts, Ind:- 34 Pts. To be honest 3 tests rather than 2 would give a more fair result. At the end of the series the main Table points would Aus:- 3 Pts, India 17 Pts. 

In a similar way all the points will be added to the main table. To keep the interest in test a Win fetches much higher points than a lame draw. Also to have a good test match a innings lead also contributes to a point. If Aus V Eng play another 5 tests then the points from all 10 tests will be divided between the 2 teams. Suppose in next ashes Eng again win 4-0 and take 89 Pts while Aus just have 3 pts, then the total points are  Eng (63+89)= 152 Pts, Aus:- (29+3)=32 Pts, then the 20 points would be divided as Eng:- 16.52 Pts, Aus:- 3.48 Pts.

At the end of 4 years the top 4 teams qualify for World Test Championship while 10th placed team is relegated for 4 years and 9th plays a playoff with second associate to fight a Test Spot for next 4 years.

Finally the World Test Champioship
Like any other major sports tournament the WTC should also be arranged to generate cash revenues for ICC.
The tournament will be a simple round robin league followed by 3 test final series. To ensure a fair system the matches for team should have both home and away matches. Since each team plays 3 test matches, it would be either 2 home and 1 away or 1 home and 2 away. Based on Random lots 2 Teams will get 2 Home test matches and 2 teams will just have 1 Home Test Matches.
The final should be 1 home, 1 away and 1 pre decided Neutral Venue. The teams would be allowed to make any number of changes in the squad for each test so that we have a good competition.

For Eg if India, SA, Eng and Aus qualify for the WTC and Eng and Aus get 2 home test while Ind and SA get 1 test. Hence based on random lots say the schedule comes like this
Aus V Eng (Lords)
Aus V Ind (Perth)
Aus V SA (Sydney)
Eng V India (Mumbai)
Eng V SA (Oval)
Ind V SA (Cape Town)

Then at the end of the series say Ind and SA top the table, then the finals would be
1st Final:- Ind V SA (Lords)
2nd Final:- Ind V SA (Eden Garden)
3rd Final:- Ind V SA (Durban), if required

This way all 4 nations get a part of the Test Matches and we can expect full houses at all the places. The finals are also so placed that all 3 places can also expect full houses. This will definitely be a great way of determining the Best Test Team rather Best Cricket Team in a fair way and very appealing to the broadcasters along with spectators and fans. The league of the tournament can be finished in around 25 days with 2 parallel or partial overlap test and finals in another 25 days, hence a total of 50 days to fun.

Famous Associate upsets in World Cups

An expected win for a minnow is always very charming. These games and players who performed in them become heroes in their nations, even though that might be the performance ever given by them :) . We now look into some of the shocks received by the elite class of cricket nations:- The test nations

1. Sri Lanka defeat India (1979)
The upsets started to happen right from 70's itself.Sri Lanka had won the ICC trophy and qualified for World Cup. They were knocking on the doors of Test Nations to become one themselves. England were dead against that and often vetoed the proposal. They had to prove their point and what a better stage to do so than the world cup
Batting first Sri Lanka made 238 in the allocated 60 overs. India started nicely with opening partnership of 60 but a increasing Run Rate and tight bowling started to take toll. Wickets started to fall regularly and India tumbled to 191 loosing by 47 runs.

2. Zimbabwe defeat Australia (1983)

With Sri Lanka becoming a test nation, Zimbabwe became the top associate nation and qualified for the world cup winning the ICC trophy. When they played against Australia no one expected them to win or provide any competition but they shocked the world defeating Australia in the first match of the Tournament.
Zimbabwe made an average 239 runs in 60 over. Australia while chasing fell short by 13 Runs.
This match remains the only win of Zimbabwe against Australia in ODI's. They however managed to defeat them again in 2007 T20 world cup

3. Zimbabwe defeat England (1992)

Zimbabwe had recently been given the Test Status after regularly proving themselves as Top associate and winning ICC trophy in 82, 86 and 90. Having got the test status they had a point to prove that they were no pushovers and they did that in style. England last world cup finalist and a strong team, they were expected to win easily .Batting first Zimbabwe were bowled out for just 134!!!! England were expected to just walk over Zimbabwe, but in a striking comeback England were bowled out for just 125!!! and Zimbabwe won by 9 runs. It was an absolute of a shocker given by an Associate.

4. Kenya defeat West Indies (1996)

Kenya made their World Cup and ODI debut in the World Cup. Though playing decently but Kenya had lost the previous 3 matches and a similar result was expected against WI who had likes of Lara, Richardson in their team. Batting first they were bundled out for 166 and not much expected from the match. With score at 18 the first wicket fell. After that the wickets just kept tumbling and the Africans bundled the 2 time former champions for just 93!!!!!
After the victory the Kenyan team celebrated like they had won the cup. Perhaps this was the start of their dream run which continued till 2003 when they did the unbelievable


5. Bangladesh defeat Pakistan (1999)

Cricket got a huge boost in Bangladesh after they won the world cup qualifier after defeating the favorites Kenya in the Final on the last ball. India were very much interested in them getting Test Status but needed strong support for the cause. They gave Indian push the required reason when they defeated the favorites Pakistan who were really going strong in the tournament. 
Batting first Bangladesh made 223. Pakistan were expected to chase that easily as they had made 275 against Australia and won and not much was expected. Bangladesh had other plans. They started decently and then in shocking events bowled out Pakistan for just 161 and won by 62 runs. This match greatly contributed in them getting Test Status as Jagmohan Dalmiya pushed for the same. Whether it is a right decision or wrong is still debated.

6. Kenya defeat Sri Lanka(2003)

This was a world cup Kenya would never like to forget. When the Kiwi's refused to play a match in Nairobi Kenya surely got an advantage of 2 points and surely needed to capitalize it. They started the tournament being Thrashed by SA by 10 wickets but surely kept to their reputation by defeating Canada and forfeit if NZ helped. They needed to add more weight and needed to maximize the home advantage. They batted first and just managed 210. When minnows make such a score they are expected to lose, but this is Kenya. They had defended 166 and now they had 44 runs more and sure they did realize that. Wickets started to fall and in front of Home crowd they bowled SL for just 157 runs. This meant that going into next round was a possibility as they had matches WI and BD and they needed to just win that

7. Canada defeat Bangladesh(2003)-Not an upset but still BD is a test nation
 

Canada qualified for World Cup after 24 years. They had not won a single match in world cup till now. Infact they had not won an ODI till now. There first win came not against a Associate but against the youngest Test Team Bangladesh showing ICC that they needed thing over their decision.
Like most of the upsets Canada batted first and made a lowly 180. When BD started to bat against them they hoped that they will live up to their Test Status but Canada had other plans. They bowled them out for a pathetic 120 and won their first ever ODI erupting in celebrations. That was a start to resurgence of Canada. After that they again qualified for 2007 and 2011 World Cups. We hope ICC goes for a 14 or 16 nation world cup in 2015 to give them more chances. In 2011 they got their second win defeating Kenya.

8. Kenya defeat Zimbabwe(2003)

Kenya had achieved what another associate had never achieved. They reached the second round. They surely were helped by forfeit of NZ but they earned it by defeating 2 test nations SL and BD besides defeating Canada. In the super six they arrived with full points with wins against NZ(Forfeit) and SL. They just needed one win and they had a chance to make it to next round but this was super six and a win was not expected. They were expected to be satisfied with this performance. Kenya had other plans. They showed the world that they can suck the politics and they definitely deserved Test Status before Bangladesh.
Unlike previous upsets Zimbabwe were batting first. They defied the history bowling Zimbabwe for just 133 and chasing in just 26 overs defeating them by 7 wickets. This was a first time an associate had chased a score. Kenya surely were on a roll.


9. Kenya reach the World Cup Semi Finals

What do you expect from a minnow playing in a world cup. Lose all matches, perhaps in odd case winning a match, in extreme case make into next round. What will you say when it makes into the next round. Well I say a miracle and a proof that new teams should be given a chance and upsets not made into rare case. This was a performance that Kenya had achieved and proved many points to the world. Sadly this has been the pinnacle of Kenyan cricket and then the downward slope started. I hope they exceed that performance and make the world of cricket more exciting.

10. Ireland tie with Zimbabwe (2007)

With the descent of Kenya the associate world was not a lost cause. There was another rising star in the world of cricket who wanted to prove cricket was not a closed bastion.
Ireland batted first and made 221. In a chase that saw the match swing in many direction finally saw last Zim Batsman to be run out and match that score but with a wicket left to tie the match. This was a first world cup for the Irish but were they really pleased with the result?

11. Ireland defeat Pakistan (2007)

After the last match which was a last ball Tie, people were really impressed with the Irish. Now they were against the mighty and unpredictable Pakistani's. It was Saint Patrick's day and Ireland wanted to celebrate it in more ways. When Pakistan came to bat as history had told, it will be minnows defeat. All the upsets except one had happened when minnow batted first. The Irish bowling really impressed. They bowled out the mighty Pakistan for just a meager 132 runs. Chasing 132 against the mighty Pak bowling was not a joke afterall Pak were known for their strong bowling. Ireland kept on loosing wickets but finally came home with 3 wickets in Hand. a perfect Saint Patrick day gift for their nations who erupted in joy.

12. Netherlands defeat England(2009)-T20

 Playing against England at Lord's in a World Cup is a greatest achievement for any player leave aside an associate like Netherlands. And what will you call it when you defeat England in England at Lord's in a first match of World Cup, a dream come true. Yes it was a dream come true defeating the historical rival but more possible in football but this time it was the game of English cricket that happened.
Playing in the first match of T20 world cup England made a good 163 runs. It was a rare case that such a score would be chased but in a stunner of the match Netherlands chased the score on the last ball of the match leaving the whole stadium and world stunned.

13. Ireland defeat Bangladesh (2009-T20)

13 is considered to be unlucky. But Ireland had to show that they deserved test status. Bangladesh like many times mocked the ICC decision when they lost to another associate in a world cup
Bangladesh made 137 and Ireland showed they were a better team and defeated them 6 wickets with 10 balls to spare to move into the next round.

14. Ireland defeat England(2011)

While 13 should have been the number that should have proved unlucky for associates but it was a multiple of 7 i.e 14 that may prove the last upset we see in a world cup
England were one of the favorites of the tournament. Chasing a score of 337 they were able to Tie against another favorites India. When they batted first and made 327, Ireland were given no chance. Associates had just chased to win 2 times but that was against very low scores. I was at that time at Mauritius Airport and thought it was a lost cause.
Playing an inning of his life Kevin O'Brien made the fastest century in the History of World Cup in just 50 balls. When he finally fell Ireland had a good chance and they shocked the whole world chasing 327. Kevin O'Brien became a household name in South Asia and Ireland a favorite of may.

15. Will we see a end in 2015 :(
Within 4 days of conclusion of World Cup many associate fans heard the worst news. ICC decided to keep the world cup for just 10 Test Nations. Just because of politics the pathetic teams of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe would be there and Ireland and Netherlands to miss in a decision which reminds of colonial days.
Positively ICC will review the decision in end June. I hope they give a chance to the associate as I do not want pathetic BD and Zim to directly qualify and Ireland missing it.

Besides the upsets there have been some upsets but minor Test Teams defeating the big 8 test teams.

Other Test Minnow's upsets

1. Zimbabwe defeat India(1999)
Zimbabwe were though to lose this match. Indian star Sachin Tendulkar had to leave for India as his father had expired. India without their star were very vulnerable and Zimbabwe exploited it to the maximum
Zimbabwe batting first made a decent 252 which was always a challenge. To add to worries India lost 4 overs due to slow over rate and had to chase the score in just 46 overs adding to pressure. India started to lose wickets at regular intervals and finally were bundled out 3 runs short losing to Zimbabwe.

2. Zimbabwe defeat South Africa(1999)
Zimbabwe had won match against Kenya and India. They needed to win the last match against mighty SA. They had never defeated their neighbors in History till now. But histories are meant to be created and yes they were created in this match
Batting first Zim made 233 and then to create history bowled out the Africans for just 180 runs defeating them by 43 runs and qualifying for next round with full 4 points. This was the best world cup ever for Zimbabwe.

3. Bangladesh defeat India(2007)
Bangladesh had very average world cups till now. In the last world cup they lost all matches even losing to Canada. They started the campaign in this world cup against Indians
Impressive bowling helped India restrict for just 191 runs. After some scares they defeated India by 5 wickets with 9 balls to spare sending the whole nation into a frenzy as if they had won the world cup.

4. Bangladesh defeat South Africa(2007)
After defeating India and making into super 8's not much was expected out of BD. But BD showed the world that they had made the right decision by making them a test nation
BD made 251 runs and chasing the score the Africans were bowled out for 181 making this the most successful world cup for the South Asians.

5. Zimbabwe defeat Australia(2007)-T20
Zimbabwe as a nation were in real mess with the political situation. They were playing really less number of matches and they had suspended themselves from Test Cricket. Australia though world champions 2 times were new to this format. This showed when batting first they just made 138 runs losing 9 wickets. Zimbabwe chasing the score kept losing wickets but Brendan Taylor had other plans making 64* from 46 balls taking Zimbabwe home with a ball and wicket to spare.

6. Bangladesh defeat England(2011)
Bangladesh had a pathetic world cup. They got thrashed by India. WI smashed them bowling them for just 58 Runs and finishing a D&N match in the day in less than 50 overs. They had some hope of next round when they defeated the impressive Ireland. Now they badly needed a win to make into next round and the next match was against one of the tournament pre favorites who had impressed by Tie against India chasing 337 and defending a low score against SA but were hurt tigers losing to Ireland
Batting first England could score a lowly 225 All Out. Bangladesh chase started decently but then started to lose wickets and it looked that they will not be able to make it. 8 wickets down with the tail on the crease it was all over, but the tail sometimes wags to clear everything and rightly they did that chasing the score with 6 balls and 2 wickets to spare.

All these matches are really memorable to talk about. With a pathetic decision of ICC to restrict 2015 WC to just 10 nations and that too all Test Nations such matches could become a like dinosaurs and extinct thing. I hope ICC reverses the decision and makes the world in my opinion atleast a 12 nation tournament. Fingers crossed for associates.