Best Associate Nation

[Gurjot95]

What do you think which is the best minnow team who has bright future?

I think it's ireland. They are working hard to get their place above bangladesh and they have reached Super 8 stage in World Cup 2007 and T20 World Cup 2009 including beating Pakistan in WC 2007. They have also win many games and they have many talented players as well. What do you think?

 

[Ollie_H]

Afghanistan.

 

[Chetan0304]

http://www.planetcricket.org/forums/cricket-discussion/small-teams-44609.html

Is this what you talking about? we had a thread on this, yeah the title misguides

 

[Gurjot95]

Yeah but that's old and now all the teams have changed

 

[Skater]

Ireland are the best, followed by Holland and then Afghanistan I think.

 

[Howsie]

If you?re talking about associate teams then the rankings are Ireland, Afghanistan and Holland. But for these teams to have a future in international cricket they must have a good infrastructure. So they have to have some sort of competent board which is able to run properly by making enough money to support the game in that particular country. A country like Canada for example will struggle because a lot of their players come from different countries. Ireland just really have to try and get more first-class cricket available for it?s players, you can?t enter Test cricket with a few guys in a team that don?t play much first-class cricket.


And by the way, I don't think they use the term minnow anymore. Teams like to be called associate nations

 

[King Cricket]

1. Ireland
2. Afghanistan
3. The Netherlands

 

[Kev]

And by the way, I don't think they use the term minnow anymore. Teams like to be called associate nations

Bottom line with that, is you don't get to pick your nicknames. Doesn't matter if they don't like it and doesn't matter if that isn't the correct term. That is what they are known as!

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Why is everyone saying Afghanistan? They failed to qualify for the WC, coming 6th behind Scotland, Canada, Ireland, Kenya and the Netherlands. Surely those 5 teams are better?

 

[mattfb]

I'll probably say Ireland and Scotland have a bright future. With England being such a force in cricket, more and more Irish and Scottish people will probably start playing.

 

[icyman]

I'm stuck between the Irish and the Dutch.

Also,Bangladesh needs to be in he list,for me,they don't qulaify as a Test Nation.

Why is everyone saying Afghanistan? They failed to qualify for the WC, coming 6th behind Scotland, Canada, Ireland, Kenya and the Netherlands. Surely those 5 teams are better?

The reason for that is their phenomenal rise. They were rank outsiders and for a country with so little funding,it is tough to make a mark internationally.As of now,they have ODI status ,which is great.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Yup, their story is remarkable. That still doesn't mean they are the best Associate nation.

 

[angryangy]

I think when you consider how Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan have been deemed good enough to play for England, the boat is unfortunately starting to sail for Ireland. They are producing a number of players who can find better career prospects in more major cricket systems. In this regard, they appear to have a stronger system than either Bangladesh or Zimbabwe currently.

Though the likes of Morgan and Joyce have yet to ascend to the ranks of Test cricket, like Tony Grieg and Kepler Wessels, their chances of playing Tests for their homeland are non-existent. Good on the boys that resist glory for the sake of national pride, but realistically, if you want them to be as competitive as possible, you want players who are die-hard keen on playing at the top level.

In terms of results, they are surely comparable to where Bangladesh were in 2000. I only wonder how well the ICC insiders rate them for future prospects.

 

[sohum]

I only wonder how well the ICC insiders rate them for future prospects.

They've got to be better than Bangladesh were at the time. IIRC, one of the criteria is having a good system in place. Ireland must have a good one and I think they also participate in a couple of the English domestic tournaments, right?

 

[Howsie]

From what I can gather the Irish system isn't that great in terms of it's own competitions.

The Irish Cricket Union (ICU) ? the governing body of Irish cricket ? was officially founded in 1923, although its predecessor had been active since 1890.[6] In 2007, it announced major changes to bring it in-line with the main cricket governing bodies.[69] After the World Cup, Irish cricket experienced a dip in success with poor results in the 2007 Friends Provident Trophy as many players were unavailable. The Irish cricket team was ? and still is[70] ? an amateur side and most of the players had full-time jobs with commitments conflicting with cricket.[45] After the World Cup there were delays in paying the players which resulted in them ignoring the press in protest to their treatment after an Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya.[45]

Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the ICU, has stated that it wants to "seek actively to place Irish players into top-level cricket, by developing relationships with [especially] county cricket which will incorporate appropriate player release for Irish international duty, and feeder systems for developing Irish cricketers".[69] The reorganised ICU sought closer links with the English county teams, encourage the development of age group cricket, and to introduce a professional element into the Irish game. They also want to take the Ireland cricket team on winter tours more often.[69] In an attempt to prevent the game losing players to counties or other commitments such as jobs, it was suggested that central contracts should be introduced.[71] By June 2009, Trent Johnston and Alex Cusack were the only players to have central contracts with the ICU.[72]

Deutrom has commented that it is difficult for Ireland to become a Test team as Ireland have not received guidance on how it can be achieved. In June 2009, shortly before the start of the 2009 ICC Twenty20 World Cup in which Ireland defeated Bangladesh to progress to the second round of the tournament, he said "Ireland has proved itself head and shoulders above the rest of the associate nations. Yet we are bumping up against a glass ceiling".[73]

It's going to be hard for them.