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Associates need support of full members to rise up ICC rankings
Two attendances in excess of 85,000, one of them a pool game not involving either host nation, Chris Gayle on fire with the highest score in the history of the tournament on a day that also featured a record partnership, an equally electric performance with the bat from AB de Villiers, impressive form from Australia, India and New Zealand and competitive cricket from the Associate teams, including a victory for Ireland over the West Indies. There have been plenty of positives from the World Cup so far.
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It upholds the belief of Cricket Australia that One-Day International cricket, contrary to the naysayers who are predicting its demise in the face of the rise of Twenty20, is alive and well, and we believe it has a viable and vibrant future.
Thanks to Twenty20, ODI cricket is actually stronger than ever, as the shortest form of the game has opened players’ eyes to what is achievable. A decade ago, a chase of eight an over was seen as testing; now it is increasingly viewed as almost straightforward.
Credit too to the administrators at ICC who just a couple of years ago introduced new playing conditions that have significantly enhanced the game. The once dull middle overs that were punctuated by four or five singles an over, now provide a far more entertaining and tactical contest between bat and ball.
These changes have added to the classic risk-reward trade-offs that have always been such a vital part of the one-day game – and coupled with the additional context of a World Cup, the cricket seems more compelling than it has ever been.
The public has certainly responded. More than 825,000 tickets were sold before a ball was bowled and our Local Organising Committee remains on track to reach its goal of one million fans heading through the turnstiles during the course of the event.
One of the reasons has been the ticket pricing, with seat prices of AUD20 (Dh57) for adults and AUD5 (Dh14) for children, and another is that this is the first major ICC event in Australasia since 1992.
You see these 20 dollar tickets to the Cricket World Cup and then this ridiculous football ticket prices in England. Ridiculous
— Yash (@YM_78) February 25, 2015
It truly is a once-in-a-generation event and the fans have responded accordingly, wanting to be a part of it. It is being followed all around the world on television, radio, the internet and in newspapers, and the level of interest has been phenomenal. The India-Pakistan game at Adelaide Oval that took place on the first weekend of the tournament may well turn out to have been the most watched match in history.
Another reason for the huge interest has been context. This is a tournament that matters, with 40 years of history dating back to the first edition back in 1975, and it has produced some stirring performances and provided indelible images that we can all look back on with a smile on our faces.
It is true the 2019 event, set to take place in England and Wales, has been slated to feature 10 teams, compared to the 14 in action here, and that has led to expressions of displeasure from not only the UAE but also fellow Associates Scotland, Ireland and Afghanistan, who feel they are being squeezed out of places in cricket’s biggest showpiece.
But those teams will still have the opportunity to qualify for the event through the ICC rankings and we believe that setup actually offers further opportunities to develop the ODI format and provide greater context to more and more matches around the world every year through the recently announced qualification process via the ICC rankings.
Of course, that means Full Members need to step up and provide more opportunities for Associates to play against them to allow those Associates to climb the rankings. That is something we have been keen to do whenever we have been able and over the past three years we have played against Afghanistan, Ireland and Scotland.
Our schedule when we visited the UAE to play Pakistan late last year meant we could not slot in any additional fixtures then – the tour began while the Champions League was still taking place and within 48 hours of the end of the final Test match we had a limited-overs series against South Africa – but we are due to play Ireland again in late August ahead of our limited-overs series against England.
We will continue to look to provide Associates with playing opportunities in the coming years and we look forward to other Full Members stepping up to help continue the sport’s development at the highest level.
(James Sutherland is the current CEO of Cricket Australia)
