BLOG: Cull the minnows... and stop the bleeding!
by Haze's Comment 22/02/2011, 18:25
Let’s get serious about things. These minnows have no place in a pinnacle event like the Cricket World Cup. Yeah … yeah … yeah … I can hear some of you rambling on already about their development and progress etc.
Well, here is a news flash! World Cups are not about all that stuff. World Cups are flagship events that crown the best around and therefore only those that are worthy should be invited to play. All that development business can carry on at T20 level. That’s where the lesser nations can get a taste of the big time and then go back to their own structures and strive to elevate themselves on a more permanent basis.
Oh yeah … and they have a much better chance of competing at the shorter format! I admit that the Dutch competed the other day … for a while … but they were never going to win! What good has been slaughtered so far done for the likes of Kenya and Canada?? More will be discouraged, demoralized and shattered.
This event that we all should be glued to is going to be a farce initially with only a sprinkling of ‘must watch’ games. Come quarterfinals time, then we will all be scrambling to find our remotes and see how the big boys play. Put it another way, if you are not a pretender and you can’t make the quarterfinals this time around the way the tournament is structured, then you have some serious cricketing issues!
It’s not like the Football World Cup where a minor nation’s flash of brilliance is rewarded and the playing fields are immediately leveled, or a defender / goalkeeper has a brain freeze and the calamity instantly creates expectation.
This is a long haul game, both during match day and tournament duration. Fifty overs each will ensure almost all of the time (yes, history has shown the VERY odd exception) that the examination will be too tough for the minnows.
Cull them now and let’s get on with a truly worthwhile exhibition of brilliance in the future!!
I look forward to your comments!
Haze's responses:
@Daniel Aldridge:
Not sure I agree with that watered down ODI series idea … you would face the same problem re non interest. That has been tried occasionally before and really did not work. How many of those games would you want to watch?? Severe impact also on television ratings and revenues also. I just think it is so important that these smaller associate teams play more against each other and then somehow earn the opportunity to play with the big boys when they have progressed enough. There must be an ongoing second tier competition. Maybe also large cricketing nations that are neighbours need to send their A teams on a regular basis to play against them so that they can develop. I keep hearing that is going to expand … but is it happening?? Development is important but the WC is neither the vehicle nor the correct stage for one-sided thrashings!
I guess the bottom line Daniel is that we have now had 9 matches in this WC and only 2 have … if we are totally honest … been worth watching. There is no doubt that a second tier Associate World Cup is the way to go and the two finalists go through to the main event. A WC with 10 teams would work. A more condensed one too!
Another very frustrating point is that the first week has been far too drawn out. Why have a schedule like that. Get 2 games a day initially and get into the business end as quickly as possible. We could easily be up to about match 16 by now … as I type this on the 25th! This event is like pulling teeth at the moment I reckon. It needs a fast forward button! 6 weeks … you are kidding me!!
@Rod Scheepers:
Rod, well done on the stats … you do make a good point but the international calendar is pretty congested right now. Oh … and the IPL!! BUT I don’t see any evidence from you about them still being good enough for the current WC??
Kenya got a free pass in 2003 (as you mentioned) but what has happened to them since then? Clearly that exposure did not work so well. I do agree with you re their lack of games… that is far from ideal. There is no doubt they should have been looked after better all round and all should have ensured that they really improve from that moment in 2003 and ride the momentum. I remember being quite excited about Kenya cricket in those days but they seem to have gone backwards. Get neighbouring A teams up there to play more against them. There obviously needs to be a more committed effort all round. It is always easy to lay the blame at the ICC door … (a fair percentage of the criticism is deserved though) … But each associate needs to get their house in order too to go forward with the game. Things have not been rosy in most aspects of Kenya cricket over the last few years which has certainly hampered development.
@Terence Duff:
It was a good day actually Terence … always good to get something off your chest mate. Cheers for the comment and thanks for agreeing. As you will see from my comments above … I agree re two tier WC. Two separate events and the finalist of the associate one go through to the big boys clash. My point re T20 is that they can join the ICC T20 event. It must be a more condensed version so that we do not have the same problem though and it lasting too long and interest being diluted. The lesser cricketing nations have a far better chance of competing in those shorter format games. World Cups should always be about the best teams always entertaining us.
@Graham Bam
Hi Graham … mmmmm … are Bangladesh not getting close to that description again?? Do you think they have really done enough regarding climbing up the rungs of the cricketing ladder?? Surely a country of nearly 150 million people should have progressed more by now?? They were rushed too quickly into full status as far I am concerned. Sri Lanka … now that is a different story! They are amazingly pro-active internally and very determined. They importantly possess a very unique talent base. The bottom line is that teams need to be ready to compete properly when they are thrust into this sort of competition. It does no-one any good getting totally thrashed consistently.
Oh yeah … one more thing … how much enjoyment did you get out of watching SL v Pak and Ind v Eng over the last 2 days?? Sport in my book is all about enjoyment… do you agree??
@Stoan Bartel
Agreed Stoan re not the place to sink or swim … not sure you will ever get your opening wish though. The disparity of quality is always going to be a decisive factor. As I mentioned before, that two tier WC competition is the only way to go and then the award the minor nations with promotion to the big deal WC when performances warrant it. Remember Stoan ..,. I am not suggesting they get banished all together. I am suggesting your wish is met at ICC T20 level. That event will happen every two years. Maybe some performance criteria can also be adopted there for some form of promotion.
@Vishan Ramnarian
Vishan …That is a very important, concise point! The duration of the WC must sustain interest. At the moment it certainly does not. That is one of the key motivations for only 10 teams next time around.