ICC likely to stay with 10 teams for World Cup
THE head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) says the world governing body is unlikely to change its plans to reduce the number of teams at the next World Cup despite being impressed by the perform- ances of the associate nations during the current tournament.
The next World Cup in 2019 will be contested by just 10 teams – four fewer than this year’s edition – prompting complaints from the sport’s developing teams that they are being shut out from the sport’s biggest spectacle.
ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said the issue of the number of teams for the next World Cup was not set in stone and would be reviewed, but he did not expect any changes.
“The decision has been made. As we stand it’s a 10-team tournament at the next World Cup,” Richardson said yesterday.
“We’ve also got the Cricket World Cup qualifier, which has been upgraded and been granted a higher status.
“Any decision to change the number of teams that qualify will have a knock-on effect for that qualifying tournament.
“There are lots of commercial implications to consider. We also need to have a look at the attendance at all the associate games, what the viewing figures were, and see where they really stand.”
Although none of the associate-level nations reached the knockout phase of the World Cup, they did record some wins against the traditional full member nations.
Their supporters believe that reducing the number of teams at future World Cups will stall the global growth of the game, but Richardson disagrees.
“To me the debate should be more about what are we doing for associate member cricket to enable them to qualify for a World Cup, whether it’s an eight-team, 10-team, 12-team, 14- or 16-team. I think that’s where we’ve made the most progress,” he said.
“We want the World Cup not just to be window-dressing but a shop window for cricket at the highest level.”
Richardson said the ICC still had ambitions of spreading the game to new frontiers, but the priority for now was consolidating the existing teams. – Reuters