Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Bit of a laughing stock as a tournament but....Ireland tonked Nepal away from home this week and could legitimately be headed to facing the lowest placed test team (potentially Zimbabwe) to become a full test team.

PNG finding Afghanistan tougher to crack second time around. It shows Afg's status now among the associates though that the game felt like it was heading for an upset.

The format looks a bit flawed.

365notout wrote:Bit of a laughing stock as a tournament but....Ireland tonked Nepal away from home this week and could legitimately be headed to facing the lowest placed test team (potentially Zimbabwe) to become a full test team.

I've got no idea where you found that Nepal played Ireland. Nepal aren't even in the tournament.

I think it's a decent format. The fact you don't play home and away isn't exactly fair but you have to remember that half of the teams have their 'home' grounds in UAE and there's obviously not enough time for these part-timers to play more matches.

A play off might make it more credible, though that would be difficult to arrange for reasons you've mentioned.

Impressive fightback from Afghanistan/woeful collapse by PNG. So Ireland the only side to win two matches.

365notout wrote:Bit of a laughing stock as a tournament but....Ireland tonked Nepal away from home this week and could legitimately be headed to facing the lowest placed test team (potentially Zimbabwe) to become a full test team.

This happens in 2018. The ICC site implies the associate team will be decided by performances at this level from 2015-17, but typically, isn't very clear.

Don't be surprised if doesn't get changed in 2018 if ireland don't make it.
England are only hosting the game because they want to face ireland.
England vs Afghanistan doesn't have the same ring to it for them.


Although ICC do really wanna get rid of Zimbabwe, only a matter of time before their full member rights are gone so it is likely it will go ahead, the one after this one is interesting since Ireland or Afghanistan assuming they beat Zimbabwe would have to play again to be a test playing nation and would this rule still be in place if Zimbabwe are still by far lower than either of them.

Seems like 11 test playing nations will be the limit and not 10 now, they basically adding one so Zim/Ban/WI get more games.

dan08 wrote:

365notout wrote:Bit of a laughing stock as a tournament but....Ireland tonked Nepal away from home this week and could legitimately be headed to facing the lowest placed test team (potentially Zimbabwe) to become a full test team.

I've got no idea where you found that Nepal played Ireland. Nepal aren't even in the tournament.

To be honest, I don't know what I was banging on about now...I thought I might of meant Namibia but they only played a T20
Qualifier vs Ireland around then.

What makes Afghanistan's win against PNG even better is they are without some of their more established players such as Rahmatshah and Zadran

Couldn't get visas for some players.

Which is bit of a joke in itself