Five associate nations with potential to reach greater heights

For way too long, cricket has been a closed shop in regards to the number of countries in the world participating at the very top level. Despite cricket’s very long history, the fact that there are just 10 ICC full member nations currently reflects poorly on the game’s global appeal in my opinion.However, pushing associate nations into Test cricket would be foolhardy and result in the standard of Test cricket being diluted, with them not having anywhere near enough quality to compete. What wouldn’t be a bad idea, though, is to encourage some of the top cricketing nations to play ODIs against these associates at reasonably frequent intervals. If associates can get that exposure of playing against the top teams, they can definitely aim to become competitive on a consistent basis in the shorter formats of the game within the next few years. Here are five associate nations with burgeoning potential-

#5 China

The Chinese Cricket Association has set itself far-fetched goals like qualifying for the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and achieving Test status in 2020. While achieving these targets is virtually impossible as far as Im concerned, the fact that they do have such lofty ambitions does indicate that they are at least viewing the sport seriously.

The China national team has participated in cricket at the Asian Games during the last 2 editions, and for the time being, that could be a good way to promote the sport and create interest for the game amongst the Chinese public. And in the distant future, who knows, we might even see China start giving healthy competition to much superior teamsin the shorter formats. All I can say is that if it does pan out that way, it will do nothing but tremendous good to the game of cricket.

#4 UAE

Although United Arab Emirates (UAE) became an affiliate member of the ICC way back in 1989, they havent been able to make huge strides in their cricketing development. That might be about to change, however, having qualified for next years ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which has in turn granted them ODI status.

What should assist the UAE in their efforts is the fact that UAE, apart from having a strong South Asian cricket-loving population, is also home to the ICC headquarters, which is located in Dubai, in addition to having excellent cricket stadiums and infrastructure, giving them a huge advantage over some of the other newly-emerging nations, and it is up to them to make full use of it.

#3 Nepal

It is still very early in Nepals cricketing journey, having played their first ever T20 international as recently as during the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh earlier this year. But in the little weve seen of them so far, they have definitely shown some potential and should grow as they go along, albeit gradually, provided of course that they continue receiving encouragement. They, after all, did beat Afghanistan in the World T20, who themselves had beaten Bangladesh in an ODI just prior to that World T20.

Unlike most associate nations, who have a large number of expatriates playing for them, Nepals cricket team is made up of native players who have come through the ranks after playing age-group cricket, which is another good sign as it reflects passion for the game among the people of Nepal.

#2 Afghanistan

There has been no story recently that has been more heartening than that of Afghanistans cricketing growth. Considering the war-prone background of the country, the people of Afghanistan having a cricket team of their own alone is pretty remarkable, but what is even more remarkable is the fact that they are also enjoying relative success as a team.

They first featured in an ICC event during the 2010 World T20 in West Indies, and were granted ODI status a year later, reflecting their rapid progress amongstassociate countries. While it would be unfair to expect them to do anything substantial in the near future, their victories over Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in ODI cricket earlier this year do suggest that there is enough cricket talent in the country, and proper harnessing of that talent might help bring about positive results.

#1 Ireland

Although even the top associate nations should not be hastily elevated to Test cricket, I would say that the one associate nation perhaps capable of playing at that higher level in the near future is Ireland. They rose to prominence by pulling off a shock upset over Pakistan in the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean, and since then, they have steadily risen as a cricket unit.

Encouragingly, they are not just content with where they are currently and are aspiring to progress to the very highest level. In January 2012, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom boldly declared that Ireland will be playing Test cricket by 2020, and they are in the process of establishing a first-class structure in the near future in an effort to put their words into action.

The one obvious hindrance to Irelands growth is the fact that their top players are always susceptible to being poached by England. If the ICC can somehow prevent this from happening, there is no doubt in my mind that they have the armoury to become worthy challengers across all formats of the game.