Cricket:Cricket Ireland gave a cautious welcome to ICC president Sharad Pawar's move to ask the governing body's executive board to reconsider their decision to restrict the 2015 World Cup to only the 10 full members, thereby snubbing Associate nations.
The decision to strip the World Cup back from 14 teams this year to only the 10 full-member nations at the next edition of the competition was met with fury among the associates, especially the Irish side that performed admirably on the subcontinent.
Dissatisfaction among the associate and affiliate nations has since been communicated to Pawar, who has responded by requesting the executive board look again at the structure of the tournament. The board meets again at the ICC annual conference in Hong Kong in June when the subject will be reopened.
Ireland felt they had justified their presence at this year’s tournament where they upset England by producing the tournament's highest ever successful run-chase.
"It's a welcome development but it's still the first step in a lengthy process because after all, it's the same individuals having the same debate on the same issue. So clearly there needs to be some catalyst for a change of heart," was the cautious response from Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland chief executive.
Ireland were particularly annoyed with the proposal because they have been ranked 10th in the one-day world rankings for most of the last four years, ahead of full member nation Zimbabwe. Many top players also said teams such as Ireland should be allowed play in the World Cup so they can continue to develop their skills against stronger opposition.
Deutrom said the non-test playing nations would need to maintain the pressure on the ICC until the format was scrapped.
"I would like to think that the decision has been revisited as a result of a reflection on their duty to the sport as a whole but I suspect the reaction and the condemnation has had something to do with it," he added. "We have to keep the public pressure up. I suspect the full members have been somewhat surprised by the reaction that has ensued following their decision, not just by the non-test countries but also by their current and former players.
"We will not let this matter lie. It is wrong, everyone knows it's wrong. The decision must be overturned."
After a meeting in Mumbai in April, the board decided to exclude all non-full members from the next World Cup and the move triggered a protest from second tier sides such as Ireland and the Netherlands.
"After receiving representations from the associate and affiliate members of the ICC, the ICC President Mr Sharad Pawar has decided to request the ICC executive board to revisit the issue in Hong Kong in June," a statement read today. "I have given this matter further serious thought and will request the board to consider this topic once more," Pawar was quoted as saying in the statement.