The creation of the World Cricket League (WCL) by the ICC was a huge step forward in bringing credibility to the associate and affiliate cricket world. A structured path to world cup qualification for all teams has energised the non test cricket world and provided an incentive for teams to improve and progress up the divisions. Afghanistan are an example of what is possible with a talented group of players and a passion to succeed.
In divisions one and two there are a core of players who are or have been professionals and the standard is therefore quite high. However, beneath level 2 the standard is much more variable and the question that has to be asked is 'how low do you go?' The ICC have shielded themselves from any criticism about the standard of these tournaments by not giving divisions 3-8 List A status, making them effectively, or at least statistically, international friendlies. It has been fascinating to analyse the lower divisions because they offer a unique insight into the make-up and standard of cricket's developing world. Below are some of the key findings to date
i) There are only around 10 teams that have a realistic chance of qualifying for the world cup
ii) African teams have a high percentage of young indigenous players (Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia, Nigeria)
iii) Teams in continental Europe and the Middle East rely heavily on ex-pat players that qualify through residency
iv) The youngest player to compete in the WCL was 16 (Nigerian) and oldest was 52 (Gibraltar)
v) Some countries have a very high percentage of players progressing through their youth development programmes (Guernsey, Uganda, Vanuatu, Nepal)
vi) Others have aging teams from ex-pat communities (USA, Bahamas, Norway, Germany)
These trends pose some interesting questions. While most games are compelling how many are constructive? Does a small clique of ex-pats playing cricket for their adoptive country really help raise the profile of the game or does it just give them an all expenses paid cricket tour at the ICC's expense? Should the qualification system be reviewed to force countries to give home grown talent a chance? Does it matter if players are not born in a country?
But it is easy to by cynical. The idea of the WCL is to give every nation a world cup dream as a stimulus for development. Individual countries, working closely with the ICC and regional offices, should be collating the following information to enable the WCL success to be measured.
a) How many additional players/teams/clubs are there in a member country following inclusion in the WCL?
b) How much media coverage/interest has there been?
c) Has the 'competitive' pool of players increased as a result of the WCL?
d) Has interest/participation in domestic leagues increased as a result of WCL?
e) Has the level of state funding increased?
f) Has the level of sponsorship increased?
g) Has development programmes/professionalism of infrastructure/union increased?
h) Has amount of cricket played in schools increased as a result of WCL?
I will be meeting with the ICC soon to get some answers to these questions. Watch this space.
Copyright: Cover Point
