Analysing the Associates: Will the minnows make an impact at 2015 World Cup?

14-member World Cup – Will the Associates make their mark in 2015?

The World Cup is less than 100 days away and it goes down under after a gap of 23 years. There has been a lot of talk about the favourites and dark horses for the tournament, but little has been said about the ‘minnows’, who’re expected to just make up the numbers.

The present international calendar is planned for all ten full members who’re trying to get their team combinations straight before the tournament. All of them have bilateral engagements over the next three months till the World Cup starts.

However, it must not be forgotten that it’s not just a 10-team tournament, not yet. This is a 14-team World Cup and may also end up being the last time we have such an 'elaborate' fifty over tournament, with 2019 World Cup already declared a 10-team tournament.

Over the years, World Cup has thrown up very few minnow successes to show for the game's governing body’s huge membership of 106 nations. However, keeping focus on the World Cup, it can be safely said that the competitive standard of associate cricket teams is perhaps the strongest ever in this edition.

If current form is to anything to go by, there is little to separate between the four associates and full members Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. In fact, considering that the Associates qualified for the World Cup in New Zealand and have played at least six to eight warm up games against state teams of Australia and New Zealand, they might just be better prepared than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

The four associate teams in this World Cup are Ireland, United Arab Emirates, Scotland and Afghanistan. It won't be too aggressive to state that a good show at the World Cup might be the strongest statement made by the associates, forcing ICC to make a more inclusive growth of the sport rather than working towards a greater financial model.

This article analyses performance of these teams over the last 12 months and highlights one key player in each side who might emerge as the lynchpin for the team to build their progress around, keeping the conditions in Australia and New Zealand in mind.

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Afghanistan

Afghanistan beat Bangladesh at Asia Cup earlier this year

The fairy tale rise of the sub-continent’s minnows to their first 50-over World Cup in just 10 years from Division 6 of the World Cricket League has been aiding the PR machinery of ICC for last 5 years. Afghanistan has had a reasonable showing at international level so far in 2014 under coaches Kabir Khan and Andy Moles.

Recent performance: They put up a good show at Asia Cup, beating Bangladesh comprehensively and then went on to draw a 4-match away series against Zimbabwe, thereby showcasing clearly that they belong to the international level, at least against the lower ranked full members.

Furthermore, as a part of their preparation, Afghanistan performed admirably against state teams in Australia and New Zealand, winning 4 out of 8 games. However, their performance at Perth on bouncy wickets is a concern that they would like to address urgently. They only have a game against New Zealand A in Dubai to set their combination straight though there has been news that special camps would be conducted in Pakistan on specially prepared wickets for the World Cup.

Key player to watch out for: Afghanistan doesn't seem to have a trump card or a talisman that carries the team forward. While earlier, Hamid Hassan would fit in this role, persistent injuries have forced him off the field. From a review of their performances over the past year, it seems a core group of players such as Nawroz Mangal at the top of the order, the pace bowling duo of Shapoor and Dawlat Zadran and all-rounder Mohammad Nabi have been the ones consistently putting in the works.

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Scotland

Scotland recently gave an almost full strength New Zealand side a scare

Scotland on the other hand have had their ups and downs throughout the year. Besides, they are making a comeback to the World Cup after 2007 and would like to showcase the improvements that they have made over the years.

Recent performance: They lost to the Irish and the Dutch at home and won only 2 of the 7 warm-up games in Australia and New Zealand. But these defeats don't really show the competitiveness that the Scots have shown. They gave a full strength New Zealand XI side, featuring players like Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor, a run for its money and lost by just a run.

A squad with all professional players, playing in the first XIs of English counties, along with the experienced coaches Grant Bradburn and Paul Collingwood have the potential to cause a few upsets in the main draw.

Key player to watch out for: Kyle Coetzer, the captain for the past two years, has led from the front. Apart from being one of the most consistent performers for Scotland in Associate cricket, he has also performed creditably for Northamptonshire in List A and Twenty20 cricket over the last 2-3 years. An added advantage is the fact that he was among the runs in the warm-up games in Australia and New Zealand.

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Ireland

Ireland – Standing strong despite the drain of talent to England

Arguably the flag bearers of cricket beyond full members’ dominance, Ireland have been keeping up their name despite the exodus of star players such as Boyd Rankin (move to England) and Trent Johnston (retired). They’re brewing new blood in their ranks and are one of the first Associate nations to offer central contracts to retain players from the lure to move to England.

Recent performance: Ireland's performance against Associates over the last two years is similar to the kind of performance exhibited by Australia during the noughties. Earlier this year it ran West Indies close in an ODI in the Caribbean, ran Sri Lanka and Pakistan horribly close at home and have been dominating Scotland, Afghanistan and Netherlands both home and away.

However, their form dipped in the practice games in Australia and New Zealand, owing to injuries and departures of key players and coach. Ireland won only two games out of eight. They now have only two games against New Zealand A in Dubai to set their team combination straight.

Key player to watch out for: Paul Stirling has been one of the most exciting prospects to come out of Ireland. An aggressive streak at the top of the order against quality pace is reminiscent of Virender Sehwag of yore, and handy part time off-spin would be key in the tournament. Though he missed out on the warm-up games in Australia and New Zealand, Stirling would be a key performer in the Irish squad.

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UAE

UAE – Back to World Cup after 19 years

UAE is by far the most amateur squad of the Associate nations that are participating at the 2015 World Cup. They're making a comeback to the tournament after 19 years.

Their most memorable moment in international cricket so far has been Sultan Zarawani, strutting out to face Allan Donald wearing a sunhat in Rawalpindi. Donald bounced him off the pitch and they dove into obscurity of international cricket since.

In the words of their own captain, you cannot take cricket seriously in UAE at the moment. Lack of professionals in the squad and presence of mostly expats is the problem that this squad faces. However, they have been brought together enthusiastically by their 43-year-old captain Khurram Khan and coach, the former Pakistan international, Aaqib Javed.

Recent performance: They have played a few warm-up games and have won 2 out of the 4 matches they played in New Zealand. Besides, their performance at Perth would be something that they could take positives from. Apart from the warm-ups, they lost to strong 'A' squads of Pakistan and New Zealand at home recently.

Key player to watch out for: Khurram Khan, the captain of the UAE may possibly be the oldest playing professional at the World Cup. At 43, he was still is the top-scorer for UAE in the World Cup qualifiers earlier this year in New Zealand and the World T20 held earlier in Bangladesh. He also bowls handy orthodox left-arm spin.

While it would be tough to predict whether any of these sides would qualify for the main draw, at a time when the game is plagued more by issues off the field than on it, we can only hope that the Associates give us new heroes and truly make the contest down under a 'World Cup'.