Time to dump the minnows?

Time to Dump the Minnows? Eng Vs Ned- What a thriller it was! In the city of oranges(Nagpur), rocked the man in orange : ”Ryan Ten Doeschate”! A blistering knock of 119 which took his team to a competitive total of 292 and a useful contribution with the ball as well, which unfortunately, wasn’t enough to restrict the Englishmen from winning. But at the end of the day, Netherlands did give a good fight! The ”2010 Associate Player of the Year” has definitely set an inspiring example. Good news for all KKR fans! :P

Look at the condition of the minnows already! With abysmal performances in their opening games, Kenya and Canada, look nervy and low in their confidence and on the other hand, their European counterparts are filled with zeal. The debate over the participation of these associate nations in the future major events, is surely heating up! I sometimes feel pity because the only time, we see them play at a competitive international level, is either at a 50 over-World Cup or a T20-World Championship. They spend most of their cricketing careers, playing Domestic Leagues and Intercontinental Trophy- Qualifiers, where-in almost every time they qualify for the above mentioned mega events – enter the tournament as underdogs – the big teams make a mincemeat of them – they return back home empty handed without making much of an impact (except for Kenya’s awe-inspiring world cup journey in 2003, the Irish Dhamaka in 2007, Netherlands’ stupefying victory over England in T20 WC ’2009, hmm..nothing else is striking my mind at the moment.)and the cycle goes on. Is this how, cricket’s being improved/promoted/globalized? Are these major events, the right place for them to showcase their talents? Do they really try to learn and improve after being hammered by the biggies? There’s a lot we can talk about.

I still didnot get the point in conducting an elite WC in future. In my opinion, if they do have to improve upon the standards, there is no point of denying them, the opportunity of playing at the top level. These major ICC events play a vital role in developing cricket in these nations. There have been a few instances when these teams have caused upsets and troubled the big teams. As far as the matter of ‘raising the standards’ is concerned, the more you play against the top teams, the better you get. So, Will Australasia’2015 witness the first ever elite CWC, with just the top 10 test playing nations, battling for the title? There you go, another question arises: Now, what is the Champions Trophy for? Well, for now, I feel its too early to jump to a conclusion. What if a team like Ireland causes a few upsets, reaches the semis like Kenya did in WC ’2003? (The probability seems to be less, but you never know, Cricket is a very funny game, you can’t under-estimate any side..blah blah blah).Tout Ensemble, The fate of these teams lies in the hands of the ‘Big daddy’- the ICC. Cheers! ;)