The official International Cricket Council website proudly proclaims that 16 teams will participate in the ICC World Twenty20 starting on Tuesday. The number of participants is significant, given that world cricket’s governing body has been heavily criticised for reducing the number of teams to just ten for the next 50-over World Cup in 2019. A 16-team field at the World Twenty20 was meant to deflect much of that criticism and was an attempt to show that the ICC is actively trying to spread the game beyond its ten constituent Test-playing nations (also called Full Member nations).
However, nothing could be further from the truth
Officially, the World Twenty20 does start on Tuesday with Hong Kong taking on Zimbabwe at Nagpur. But there will be no glamorous opening ceremony to kick off what is supposed to be a global tournament. Under the pretext of announcing that 16 teams will be participating in the tournament, the ICC has only glorified a qualifying event by including it as part of the tournament proper.
In terms of the schedule, the devil lies in the details. Two of the lowest-ranked Full Member nations – Bangladesh and Zimbabwe – and six other Associate nations – Netherlands, Ireland, Oman, Scotland, Afghanistan and Hong Kong – are divided into two groups and will participate in the so-called “First Round”.
The two winners of their respective groups will go to the Second Round, which starts on March 15, where the cricketing elite lie in wait. For all the talk of globalising cricket, the “real” ICC World Twenty20 will actually begin a week from now once the field has been narrowed down to just 10 teams – the same number as proposed for the 2019 limited-overs World Cup.
Punching above their weight
It was not always like this. The 2009, 2010 and 2012 editions of the tournament saw the Associate nations go head-to-head against the Full Members in the main draw. And almost every edition saw an upset. The Netherlands stunned England in front of a packed crowd at the home of cricket, Lord’s, in the tournament-opener in 2009. As if to prove it was not a fluke, the Dutch defeated England again in 2014 and in far more convincing fashion, bundling them out for 88 in Chittagong.
In fact, the Twenty20 format lends itself favourably to upsets. The condensed version of the game reduces the gap between teams. A moment of magic – one good over or a couple of quick wickets – can swing a game. Whether or not this is healthy for the sport is debatable, but there is no doubt that if cricket is to be taken to other countries, it can only be done by riding on the coattails of its shortest format.
Unfortunately, the ICC’s decision to bunch the teams into one qualifying tournament takes away much of the fun of a global event. It is also slightly surreal to see Bangladesh, who only very recently defeated Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, and provided a stern challenge for India in Sunday’s final, having to qualify for the main draw. At the same time, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been provided free passes to the Super 10 stage.
Nowhere to go
The Associate nations are not short on quality either. Ireland, Afghanistan and Netherlands have proved to be giant killers in the past. Oman achieved Twenty20 status last year by defeating Namibia. Hong Kong have defeated Bangladesh in a Twenty20 previously, while Scotland gave a flattering account of themselves despite losing all the matches they played in the 2015 World Cup.
Associate nations have constantly said that playing top opposition is the only way they can improve. Unfortunately, because of the way international cricket operates, most top nations prefer playing bilateral tournaments between themselves. For nations such as Ireland and Afghanistan, these multi-nation tournaments offered the only opportunity to take on the big guns.
But now that the ICC has limited the number of teams at the next ODI World Cup and ensured that only two qualifiers make it to the main draw at this month’s World Twenty20, the writing on the wall is clear for cricket’s lesser nations. International cricket remains an exclusive club with newcomers barely tolerated, let alone welcome.
