This week I ask the question, is there a commentators conspiracy against associates? The historic win for the Dutch against England followed by Ireland’s defeat of Bangladesh has made the T20 world cup a memorable one for the associates. Indeed, more than that it has confirmed that T20 has a key role to play in closing the gap and spreading the game to new communities in new countries.

It is therefore deeply saddening that commentators have continued to patronise and understate the achievements of the so called ‘minnows’. Mike Atherton boldly predicted that associates would not get a sniff of victory in a format that requires a high level of technical skill. Not only was a usually astute observer proved emphatically wrong but his alarmingly narrow view was exposed.

Those that believe that only test teams should compete in major tournaments are forgetting that cricket has to compete with other sports for players, funding and media coverage. How can it hope to compete with football if it doesn’t spread to new regions and captivate new audiences? But Atherton is not alone in this blinkered view. One view i heard recently was that T20 was discredited because it enabled an associate to compete with a test team. How absurd. How utterly absurd. This is an element of T20 that should be applauded. You only have to look on facebook groups and web forums to see just how much excitement an upset generates; and not just from fans of those countries, but from cricket lovers from across the world delighting in the exploits of the underdog.

The ignorance and patronising tone are also evident. In the commentary of the Ireland versus New Zealand match Jeremy Coney was amusing himself by revealing the occupations some of the Ireland players. The implication being of course that these were amateurs, and deserved to be exposed on the big stage. At one point he declared that Gary Wilson was a carpenter when in fact is currently a professional at Surrey. Later in the game he scoffed that New Zealand born Peter Connell must have qualified by reading the Irish Times once.

His conceit is only matched by his ignorance; both of the commitment of such recruits to their associate team and also of the strict qualification procedures that the ICC have applied. Presumably he has also forgotten that Ireland has produced two test class players in the last decade that have since been pinched by England. Michael Holding, who witnessed Ireland’s heroics at first had and on home soil at the last world cup, has expressed equally cynical views about the stature and status of associates.

So it seems there is a conspiracy amongst the very people who have both the standing and the platform to champion the associate cause. The only notable exception i can think of is dear old Colin Croft who witnessing Ireland’s victory over Pakistan was demanded they be given test status. 

 

Test nations and their much vaunted alumni represent a privileged clique who are seeking to protect their pre-eminent place in crickets elite. They would do well to remember that they represent a mere 10% of the global cricket community and that it is they that have the most to lose if cricket fails to expand, conquer new markets and challenge the seemingly unstoppable growth of football.



Copyright: Cover Point