And so, with the significant exception of Afghanistan, the Associate World T20 ‘adventure’ is over.
Having already gone through a whole series of qualifiers only to reach another qualifying stage, the Associate teams endured a week of games characterised by poor organisation, lack of interest and the competing attraction of major team’s warm-up matches, culminating in the farcical situation of rain playing the biggest hand in who progressed from Group A into the main draw. At least Scotland, having missed out on chances to defeat both Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, finally achieved the consolation of a much-needed tournament win to end their twenty-game losing streak.
The opportunity to add to it, however, will not come round easily again.
The ICC have effectively condemned the Associate nations to a future of matches mostly between themselves and qualifying tournaments for international events they have little hope of progressing into. The decision of the governing body to install a qualifying round into the WT20 – branding it as ‘Round One’ is fooling nobody – as well as limiting the 2019 and 2023 fifty-over World Cups to ten teams (to guarantee India at least nine games against the ‘top sides’) will deny most, if not all, Associate teams the opportunity to compete with the established powers on the biggest stage.
With the ICC happy to sacrifice the expansion of Associate cricket at the altar of Indian TV rights their priorities are clear.
“There are lots of commercial implications to consider,” as Dave Richardson, the ICC Chief Executive succinctly put it when the new format was announced. “We need to have a look at the attendances at all the Associate games, what were the viewing figures, and see where they really stand.
“We want the World Cup to not just be window-dressing but a shop window for cricket at the highest level.”
So Ireland beating West Indies and Pakistan, for example, or Holland taking down England (twice)? Or Afghanistan against Scotland in 2015, an outstanding game which provided one of the stories of the tournament?
No thank you very much, not where the money is.
“That is why the ICC has the tournament in two phases, because they will lose a lot of revenue if one of the ‘top nations’ go out to any of us in the early rounds,’ said Ireland captain William Porterfield after elimination was confirmed with the abandonment of their match against Bangladesh. “It doesn’t happen in any other sport. Every sport grows. Football has increased the number of teams for the next World Cup. Rugby have done the same. They are looking to progress their games.
“It is a shame that the ICC at the top level insist on cutting teams. It has fallen on deaf ears a lot of time. After the last World Cup there were quite a few people at the top table who were quite happy that we missed out on run rate. Makes it a bit easier for them to ignore all the comments and let it die over time. This is what happens.”
Despite the work of those involved in the ICC’s High Performance Programme, the privileged few sitting at that top table appear intent on keeping the Associates in their place. For a governing body supposedly there to protect, nurture and grow the global game it is a shocking and scandalous position. The colonies may be no more, but Imperialist attitudes are alive and well and living in plush offices in Dubai.
“I don’t think it is those people who work hard… they do work hard for Associate cricket,” said Dutch captain Peter Borren. “But maybe above them there is a sort of malaise towards Associate cricket. To grow further in the game, we always hear it is not commercially viable. We can’t afford to do our own bilateral series. It is very difficult for us. We then hear the World Cricket League has gone to a three-year cycle because it is not affordable otherwise. To be honest there is money somewhere. There is a lot of money in cricket. The revenue should be spread more far out so that we have that opportunity to play more.”
The exasperation at the ever-shrinking opportunity to play matches against top opposition is palpable.
“So, you tell me how I’m going to improve my skills and develop as a cricketer?” said Scotland captain Preston Mommsen. “Playing under pressure, being exposed to a higher level of skill, exposed to different conditions, you know it all adds up, every little percentage. You know unfortunately that’s just the way it is and we try and handle it in the best way we can. However, it probably does take its toll.
“I’m not sure people realise the pressure associated with playing as an Associate. Every time you take the field, no matter what version of cricket – T20s, fifty-over, four-day cricket – you’re playing for something, you’re playing for a place, you’re playing for money, you’re playing for funding, you’re playing for opportunity.
“We don’t have just bilateral one-day series where we can go and experience different conditions, different elements and play different teams. That’s not part of Associate cricket. Associate cricket is about winning at all costs, and unfortunately that’s just the nature of the beast. And it is a beast.”
And what of ‘World T20 Round One’ itself? No opening ceremony, empty stadia, supporters locked out as they were unable to buy tickets at the gate and some of the top eight ‘Super 10’ teams not even on the same continent as the tournament – supposedly – got underway.
Worst of all was the situation in Group A, with both the Netherlands and Ireland eliminated after wash-outs, a lack of reserve days meaning that because they had lost their first – and only – matches they were left with no chance to progress to the main draw.
“Guys have put a lot of work into this campaign,” said an understandably emotional Peter Borren after the washout against Oman brought about their exit. “It started a year ago or close to that with the first part of the qualifier in Ireland and Scotland. We shared that trophy and played some really good cricket. We sit here now after playing three hours of cricket against Bangladesh where we came up short. It’s extremely disappointing.
“There are obviously questions about how much we’ve had to do to get to this stage as it is. We’ve won a lot of games and an eight-run loss to Bangladesh and we’re gone. It’s hard to take.”
This shoddy and cack-handed way to treat teams who had already jumped through hoops to get this far sums up the lack of interest – worse than that, the lack of care – in the fate of Associate cricket. The situation in Dharamsala was unspeakably unfair. Granted, there are no reserve days scheduled anywhere in the tournament until the semi-final stage but no team in the main draw will ever find itself in the position of being eliminated having played only a single match. For the BCCI to have arranged the Group A games in Dharamsala – at the edge of the Himalayas – and then not even considered the impact that rain would have on this already pathetically small window opportunity to progress to the latter stages typifies the lack of care given to this phase of the tournament. The BCCI clearly have their minds on far more important things.
The whole experience has been far from the joyous, spectacular celebration of a sport at its highest level that a World Cup is supposed to be about. It has instead raised – again – serious and disturbing questions about the governance, organisation and very future of our game. This is a World Cup where all that matters is money and the protection of vested interests. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the foreseeable future of our sport.
Yet again, the anger, distress and frustration of the Associate captains has been clearly and powerfully stated. They are and represent the true stars, the real heroes of cricket. But only time will tell if anyone else was listening.
