WCL Div 2 in Namibia

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jaybro
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

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Also your point about every team winning two games each is wrong, I'll bet you anything that doesn't happen.
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

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It's such a shame that Scotland got robbed against the Windies and that Zimbabwe stuffed up against the UAE, if the results went differently we would have seen Scotland and Zimbabwe through and all everyone would be saying is how the 10-team format is rubbish and how it's travesty that Rashid Khan isn't going to the World Cup or that the Universe Boss will never be able to play at another World Cup.

Im sure if things went that way we would never see another 10 team world cup
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

Post by Kriterion_BD »

jaybro wrote:
Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:39 pm
Yes investing money into these Countries is essential for growth but the best way to grow interest in the game is to actually get people interested in the game and the best way to do that is by watching their nation on TV at a big even like a WC

The people in Canada won't be interested in the game by following 'limited scorecard updates' on their PC of Canada v Oman in WCL2, but watching John Davison smash the quickest WC century against the West Indies will gain their interest, as would have watching Canada smash Bangladesh at the same WC.

I think if you ask most people how they got into cricket it will be from watching a game on TV, for the smaller nations who don't have Test Status the World Cup was always their big event, now they have nothing the only thing to realistically play for is the 13th spot in the ODI championship which comes around every what two years??

The World Cup in every sport is not just about 'winning' it's about watching your nation no matter how small or out classed they are on the big stage of the World Cup, the ICC say that nobody wants to watch Australia smash Nepal, but looking back at the last World Cup there were few matches that ended up in drubbings, and the facts are that sides like Scotland & Afghanistan who were on the end of some drubbings have improved out of sight to the point that Afghanistan have qualified for a 10 team World Cup and Scotland have beaten Sri Lanka & England in recent times.

World Cricket has never been in a better position to host a 14 or even 16 team World Cup with the strength of the associates now, it's been said before but Fifa is going to a 48 team world cup but the ICC is going backwards. If you want a smaller format with the top sides that's what the ICC Champions Trophy was for, but they've canned that too. The real issue is the ICC are just doing what India want and India don't care for anyone but themselves that's a fact.
Its hard to argue against most of your points here.

There's no substitute for grass roots development IMO. Maybe in a very large and wealthy country like the US, a world cup could translate to bigger things. Even then, its 50-50 at best. If I told my friends/coworkers the US was playing in a World Cup, they would likely ask a few questions, say it was "cool" and go about their business. The saving grace is the USA has 300 million people, and you only need a fraction of a percent of the kids to get hooked to cricket and then boom you suddenly have a player base bigger than New Zealand or Jamaica's.

But that doesn't apply as well to small nations like Namibia or very poor ones like PNG.

If we look at the recent countries where cricket has grown (Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh), mass fan interest was already there before any world cup appearances or Test status.

But you are right, the World Cup is a huge deal for those fans who are already there.

It would be interesting to see how you would react if Bangladesh missed out on the World Cup? It's a real possibility of happening too if they continue down this 10 team bullshit, really there haven't been any players come through since Shakib, Mushy & Tamim who have had nearly the same amount of success, so once those guys are gone you'd think Bangladesh will find themselves in the Qualification tournament, lets see how you feel then?
I've been on the record consistently about favoring a 12 team tournament. I think 10 is too few but 14 is too many. Yes we could theoretically have a 16 or even 24 team WC if it followed a modified FIFA format. But the problem is, the ICC is financially dependent or at least feels dependent on India's progression. Thats just a fact that we can't hide or run from.

That rules out big tournaments with 16+ teams.

Yeah its going to suck if BD have to play the qualifiers, but that hopefully shouldn't happen until 2024 at the earliest by my estimation. That still gives us 5 years to find some decent younger players. If Afghanistan continues to develop, if the Windies find their groove again, and if Sri Lanka are able to rebuild it will make it very tough to stay in the top 8 and get automatic qualification. But those are just realities BD will have to deal with. We have known for some time that only the top 8 will get automatic berths...its up to us to ensure that given how much time we've had to prepare and qualify. The ICC's emphasis on the top 8 started way back in 2006 with the Champions Trophy cutting BD and ZIM out. So its something we've grown accustomed to for some time. BD has been left out of the WT20s as well due to our ranking outside the top 8.
Also your point about every team winning two games each is wrong, I'll bet you anything that doesn't happen.
I know I've said SL will likely go winless, but thats hyperbole. I think most informed cricket fans will agree that any of these 10 sides can beat the other on their day. With such a long tournament (9 games each), its not unlikely that those "days" will occur a few times. Its not hard to imagine Afghanistan upsetting South Africa, especially in a DL revised target situation. The Windies could upset England or Pakistan...its not out of the realm of possibility.
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

Post by Kriterion_BD »

jaybro wrote:
Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:45 pm
It's such a shame that Scotland got robbed against the Windies and that Zimbabwe stuffed up against the UAE, if the results went differently we would have seen Scotland and Zimbabwe through and all everyone would be saying is how the 10-team format is rubbish and how it's travesty that Rashid Khan isn't going to the World Cup or that the Universe Boss will never be able to play at another World Cup.

Im sure if things went that way we would never see another 10 team world cup
I don't think the WI or AFG boards are that influential that the format would be scrapped. Even if NZ or SA missed out, the ICC would continue with it. The only 3 countries who's qualification matter are India, England, and Australia.
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

Post by ZIMDOGGY »

Some good points by both here.

Firstly, I think a lot of the culling issues could have been avoided if they had settled on at least 12 for the World Cup. I prefer 14 though as usual. It’s more grand.

Secondly, keiterion is right about the grassroots interest and all that.
I’m sick of seeing countries represented by Pakistani and Indian migrants. It’s cheating. And those guys in say, Canada, speak Urdu at home and if Canada played Pakistan in soccer the next day they would be cheering for Pakistan. Never has one of these countries emerges as a test team either and it won’t. The Netherlands however do have some locals interested but they are starting to mix it with immigrants.
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

Post by Kriterion_BD »

ZIMDOGGY wrote:
Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:05 pm
Some good points by both here.

Firstly, I think a lot of the culling issues could have been avoided if they had settled on at least 12 for the World Cup. I prefer 14 though as usual. It’s more grand.

Secondly, keiterion is right about the grassroots interest and all that.
I’m sick of seeing countries represented by Pakistani and Indian migrants. It’s cheating. And those guys in say, Canada, speak Urdu at home and if Canada played Pakistan in soccer the next day they would be cheering for Pakistan. Never has one of these countries emerges as a test team either and it won’t. The Netherlands however do have some locals interested but they are starting to mix it with immigrants.
I largely agree. Now the US/Canada are immigrant nations so I don’t have a problem in theory with the teams being completely black (West Indies) and brown. But the problem is that such teams will not attract the kind of em masse support needed to really make them serious cricket nations. Get out there and teach average American and Canadian kids about the game. Let them see for themselves how fucking amazing this game is. That’s the only way. Not by token participation in a tournament where they will get mopped by even the lowest ranked full memebers.

Teams like UAE and Oman are representative still because 50-60% of their population are desis from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and SL (and Philippines, Thailand). Only 25% of UAE’s population are actual Emiratis.
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

Post by Kriterion_BD »

USA off to a reasonable start vs Hong Kong. The match is being live streamed (with commentary) here:

https://www.youtube.com/watchv=QOQvzmbN ... N_uZlqwXnw

Decent quality stream with 6 cameras. The Namibian ground looks decent as well.

Interesting to note that 1600+ are watching live right now compared to about 150 for the ZIM vs UAE streams when I was watching them. Like I said, cricket has good potential in the US as a niche sport...if we can get even 2% of the average American youth interested in this game, US will be a force.
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

Post by Kriterion_BD »

USA gets ODI status. Couple of commanding wins in the tournament, and they have clinched it with a game to spare!

Beating Oman in the final is very much on the cards and would be the perfect way to sign off!
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

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Well done to Oman & the US for gaining ODI status for the first time (USA had temporary status for the CT) they’ll get 36 ODIs over the next few years, maybe more if they can afford it.

The race on for the last two spots is still definitely on, Namibia are in the box position having won two games and having a better NRR than the other three sides, but the clash between Namibia and Hong Kong is massive, Hong Kong will be desperate to win knowing a loss could easily cost them ODI status.

Canada & PNG have to face the US and Oman and although they’ve been easily the best two sides in the competition to date, there’s always a chance they’ll rest players or not play with the same intensity. Canada & PNG have everything to play for whilst the US and Oman have nothing really.

So much at stake
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Re: WCL Div 2 in Namibia

Post by Kriterion_BD »

jaybro wrote:
Wed Apr 24, 2019 9:27 pm
Well done to Oman & the US for gaining ODI status for the first time (USA had temporary status for the CT) they’ll get 36 ODIs over the next few years, maybe more if they can afford it.

The race on for the last two spots is still definitely on, Namibia are in the box position having won two games and having a better NRR than the other three sides, but the clash between Namibia and Hong Kong is massive, Hong Kong will be desperate to win knowing a loss could easily cost them ODI status.

Canada & PNG have to face the US and Oman and although they’ve been easily the best two sides in the competition to date, there’s always a chance they’ll rest players or not play with the same intensity. Canada & PNG have everything to play for whilst the US and Oman have nothing really.

So much at stake
Its been said before that these Associate tournies including the WC Qualifiers are brutal in that a single defeat or the slightest 0.001 margin in net run rate can mean the difference between having status or not, or making the cut to the next tournament or not. A matter of achievement and pride, but also one of hundreds of thousands and in certain cases millions of dollars as well. It must be a sensational feeling when your side comes out trumps, as the US has made it after years of poor performances. And arguably, this is the best time given the quantity and quality of fixtures the US has now secured for itself.

I would imagine some of the Test nations touring Florida when they play the Windies can arrange a match or two vs the US. I would drive down to Miami if Bangladesh managed to arrange an ODI vs the US.
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