dan08 wrote:Still I'm sure everyone would rather see a close game between two associates than a one sided game between full members. ICC obviously don't care about though as there's no money in those games...
again being devil's advocate that's not really the point
having 2 lower quality teams but of equal ability playing each other and getting a close game doesn't necessarily justify their presence in a world cup
all I am saying is in terms of putting pressure on the ICC games between the associates are irrelevant, its how competitive they are against the top teams that matters
and whilst I am sure the people who watched the game would agree it was good to see a close game judging by the size of the crowd and the likely level of interest for neutrals I would be fairly confident nowhere near as many people would watch games between 2 associates in the first place, and btw I watched every ball live