Deprived of any places at the World Cup,associates’ attention has turned to the qualifying event in Ireland and Scotland for the World Twenty20At Heathrow a few weeks ago, Dave Richardson, and the chief executive of the ICC,bumped into a director of cricket of a main associate nation. The director was en route to a assembly that would be discussing how to improve the performance of associates. Not much point with the World Cup reduced to 10 teams,” he said. Richardson laughed.This is the backdrop to the World Twenty20 qualifying event currently being played in Ireland and Scotland, or which will determine the six associates who progress to the World T20 in India next year – the only realistic chance for most associates to reach a world event in the rest of the decade. Add in the $250000 available to the six qualifiers – the difference between many getting a contract and remaining amateur – and teams are imbued with a palpable desperation to progress.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com