ICC Takes A U Turn & approves 14-team format for Woorld Cup 2015

[Fenil]

In a welcome decision, The ICC Executive Board today reversed its previous decisions and approved a 14-team format for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to be held in Australia and New Zealand and a 12-team format for the ICC World Twenty20 events in 2012 (Sri Lanka) and 2014.

You can read the same in detail, here.

 

[Ahmad94]

Nice to see more teams playing. Makes the game better in my opions and gives the lower associate teams a lot of expreience for the future

 

[Fenil]

Yes, I think the strong performance from associate teams like Netherlands and Ireland in World Cup 2011 forced ICC to reverse its decision.

 

[sifter132]

I still think it's too many - 12 would be a good compromise. The performances of the associates was overrated from the last WC. There were certainly a couple of great ones, but most of the time they got rolled pretty easily. Is that really worth all the anguish and gnashing of teeth from the media and 'fans'? Kenya got smashed by NZ, Pak, SL and Zimbabwe and if it wasn't for Colllins Obuya, Australia would have smashed them too. Netherlands played 2 good matches against England and Ireland, but both those matches had a ten Doeschate century, so without him they probably would have tanked as well. And in the other 4 matches they got walloped. Even Zimbabwe and Bangladesh lost big more than once (Zim vs NZ & SL, Bang vs WI & SA).

 

[Chewie]

They've gone and increased the WC but decreased the T20 WC, the format where they had previously said was the best place for the associate countries to show how well they can do...

 

[shravi]

9 test playing nations plus Zimbabwe, Ireland and Holland would have been perfect at CWC 2011. Any more than that and the gulf in class becomes too apparent. Sure, the chances of those 3 teams making it to the next stages is next to none but they deserve that exposure. However, too many of them just results in far too many boring matches that nobody is interested in- between the minnows themselves and the forgone conclusions when they face up against the heavyweights.

 

[teamindia]

I still think it's too many - 12 would be a good compromise. The performances of the associates was overrated from the last WC. There were certainly a couple of great ones, but most of the time they got rolled pretty easily. Is that really worth all the anguish and gnashing of teeth from the media and 'fans'? Kenya got smashed by NZ, Pak, SL and Zimbabwe and if it wasn't for Colllins Obuya, Australia would have smashed them too. Netherlands played 2 good matches against England and Ireland, but both those matches had a ten Doeschate century, so without him they probably would have tanked as well. And in the other 4 matches they got walloped. Even Zimbabwe and Bangladesh lost big more than once (Zim vs NZ & SL, Bang vs WI & SA).

It is world cup not a champions league We need a to give these guys more chance. Every country used to suck. England, India were all crap like 10-15 years back getting all out for 100 runs in Australia The problem today is they have 1 game a day and this makes the tournament boring. They need to modify it so there are more than one game per day. Kenya were in Semis not long ago. None of the 10 wise countries tried to help them out and now they are back in the hut

 

[ferg512]

I'm not really happy with the change, 12 teams would have been good. Then you could have Ireland and one other associate, looks like the next world cup will be as boring as the last one..

 

[STLIndian]

Why couldnt they keep the 10-team format and make the last 2 spots qualifying spots? (The top 8 Test teams would automatically qualify). Or at least make it 12 teams. Didnt this year's WC prove that 14 teams is too many? Only Ireland really competed with the top 8.

And why is the T20 12 teams now? What was wrong with 16 teams?

 

[Owzat]

I still think it's too many - 12 would be a good compromise. The performances of the associates was overrated from the last WC.

It's a rock and a hard place, none of the 'associates' really shone and including them makes the format difficult to get right. You end up with either too many games against the 'associates', or run the risk of upsets - or both.

In 2011 there were too many one-sided games and one shock was it? (IRE vs ENG) You can't really count Bangladesh as they are a Test nation and would be at the World Cup either way.

In 2007 they had fewer group games, that meant two upsets knocked out two (relatively) big guns in Pakistan and India, and that Ireland and Bangladesh in the 'super eight' and I think they won one further game each - Ireland winning the head to head.

So it is hard to maintain the balance between having a strong competition and letting everyone have a chance to participate. The organisers clearly don't want the competition 'watered down', the 'super eight' from 2007 was meant to be a strong round robin and that went tits up. In 2011 they went for more group games to make sure the strongest sides went through and that meant a lot of pointless games with no real interest in them. It is no surprise (to me anyway) that they wanted to reduce it to 10 sides, I suspect they'll spend the next 4 years finding a format that gets rid of the unwanted extras asap with minimal risk of upsets like 2007

 

[Fenil]

Well I think a World Cup should be played like a "World Cup" not like a Champions Trophy. Also, the dark horses just adds a bit of spice in the tournament, don't they? How many times we have seen that the loses to dark horse teams have been proved lethal for the more formidable teams? Who else than India and Pakistan can answer better than that? They lost to such dark horses in 2007 edition and resulted in their exit.

One should not under estimate such dark horse teams.

 

[Aoun13]

I guess 12 teams are perfect for a cricket WC unless minnows surprisingly start playing well.

Only Ireland and to some extent Afghanistan has some potential in the minnow teams, rest are all just way too easy for the stronger teams.

 

[War]

Poor decision. They had the right idea when they decided after the 2011 WC to reduce the 50 overs tournament to 10 teams and increase the T20 Cup to 16. Since that clearly is best way forward.

This decision shows indecisiveness and is just another example of the weak ICC governing body collapsing the little outcry from members it is suppose to have control over.

 

[Rehan_24]

Pathetic Decision in my view. Worst ever......... Shows little power of ICC,

Hey Guys, Get Ready for plenty of boring group matches in fantastic grounds of Australia and Newzeland

 

[ferg512]

Pathetic Decision in my view. Worst ever......... Shows little power of ICC,

Hey Guys, Get Ready for plenty of boring group matches in fantastic grounds of Australia and Newzeland

Yeah I mean why didn't they just compromise and make it 12? I don't see any way they can change the format to make it any better. You will either get 2007 where one upset can ruin the second stage or 2011 where the whole tournament was meaningless until the last week. Really poor decision ICC, absolute joke really I mean if you're going to make a decision stick with it.