ICC Goes Back to 14 Teams for 2015 World Cup

The International Cricket Council has reversed its decision to cut the number of teams in the 2015 World Cup, throwing a lifeline to the so-called minnows who were fast heading down the international sporting plughole.

Associated Press

ICC President Sharad Pawar

"In Hong Kong today, the ICC Executive Board opted to retain the 14-team format that was used at the highly successful and universally acclaimed ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka with the 10 Full Members being joined by four Associate or Affiliate qualifiers," the ICC said in a statement Tuesday.

The ICC, however, stuck to its guns on the 2019 Cricket World Cup, confirming that it would be a 10-team event with the top eight-ranked teams automatically assured of a place and the remaining two positions decided through a qualifying process.

Last October, the ICC said only the 10 full members—countries with Test cricket status—would be eligible for the 2015 World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

That decision was aimed at reducing the number of mismatches in the quadrennial tournament, which has seen the likes of India lining up against the Netherlands and Australia taking on Zimbabwe.

But the ICC's plan to cut the number of teams left it open to charges of failing to expand cricket globally. Critics charged the "international" council's main aim should be developing the sport world-wide and that lesser nations suffer if they never get to play the top teams.

Ireland has provided a consistent ray of hope that cricket could expand beyond its traditional heartlands, as seen during the 2011 World Cup when the Men in Green beat England.

"The initial reaction is probably just one of relief to be honest with you, relief that we now have the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup and relief that we can now devote our energy to actually trying to qualify for it,'' Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom told Reuters.

Other "minnows" didn't perform quite so well during this year's World Cup but Ireland's efforts were enough to force a rethink. Soon after the World Cup finished, ICC President Sharad Pawar provided a glimmer of hope when he said he had asked the ICC executive board to revisit its decision to cut the number of teams in the 2015 edition.

It appears the ICC board listened to Mr. Pawar, who is also India's agriculture minister and one of the country's most powerful and richest politicians.

The ICC's reversal was welcomed by Irish cricket fans, though some were perhaps a little over-optimistic about their team's chances in 2015. One supporter, called James Bohan, took to Twitter to write, "Now let's go and win it!!" Another, calling himself Rick O'Shea, opted for a more balanced approach: "It's the right, decent, smart decision for all concerned and opens the sport up here even further. Great news."

The ICC also announced Tuesday that it had decided against expanding the 2012 and 2014 World Twenty20 tournaments to 16 teams, and would instead maintain the 12-team format that has prevailed since the event's inception in 2007.

The 2012 World T20 will be held in Sri Lanka, while Bangladesh will host the 2014 installment.