"Test"ing Time for ICC

When Asia Cup was staged in the year 2004 , it was seen as the introduction of associate teams to the real cricket world. It was thought UAE and HongKong would be given more opportunities to improve.But still they remain the same team 4 years back , only difference being new faces.

Cricket has been a game played by very few countries. Since the last decade or so it has been spreading to other countries as well. ICC has been doing commendable work in this regard. They have formed the associate group of nations and have their tournaments and tours. But time has come to move a step further.

Holding a tournament like Asia Cup once in a while will do no good for these teams. It would merely help the players of the Regular cricket playing nations boost their stats , as we have seen in this tournament so far. They may have dominated sessions of play, but they are still very far from even batting 50 overs. In this regard , even Bangladesh though a test playing nation has not show cased consistent performance. Probably , they are still a "one-day wonder".

Playing more cricket is the only way to make it big at International stage. At present its more of a part time affair for these players.Here comes the importance of a good first class system and this is what these countries lack. Playing more cricket is what makes a talented player a good player. There is no dearth of talent in these countries , the problem is in the system. What ICC could do in this regard would be to include these teams in tournaments like Duleep Trophy or some part of County Cricket. This would give them the much needed exposure to what is played at International Level. Also including them in T20s would be more meaningful.Here they will have a better chance of winning a game since its only a matter of getting the momentum for 40 overs.

Zimbabwe,Kenya and Bangladesh are 3 teams which have been around for a while yet they still arent a team to be reckoned. The reasons are the same , except in Zimbabwe where the political system is in such shambles that there is no time to look at cricket. Kenya and Bangladesh, though they have a first class cricke system , its not competitive enough nor does it provide a decent income.

Its tough days ahead for ICC with the take over by T20s and decline of some cricketing nations.It would be interesing to see how ICC is going to tackle these problems.