Recent results have shown the T20 World Cup is due for a shakeup. It’s time for a new format, and it’s time cricket’s ‘big three’ reshaped their attitudes towards associate nations, writes Will Cuckson.
On Wednesday, it was Ireland, on Thursday it was Zimbabwe.
It’s still early in the Super 12s stage of this year’s T20 World Cup, but both sides have already made huge waves in the competition with upset wins over England and Pakistan respectively.
The magnitude of these results, both in the context of the tournament, and in world cricket as a whole, are arguably the cherry on top of plenty of recent success for associate cricket teams.
The Only Sports Show | Listen to our newest episode:
You don’t have to look any further back than the group stages of this T20 World Cup for evidence of the quality and equality of cricket’s associate nations, with this year’s qualifying stage perhaps the most even we’ve ever seen at a T20 World Cup.
Namibia staked an early claim for a Super 12s spot, kicking off the group stages of the T20 World Cup with a 55-run win over Sri Lanka.
But despite the strong start, their qualification hopes were crushed by a last-gasp upset from the UAE, with both teams missing qualification from Group A.
Group B was just as strong, with all four teams having won a game and tied on net run rate ahead of their final games in the qualifying round.
Zimbabwe and Ireland made it to the Super 12s from that group, with Scotland, and the West Indies – who won the T20 World Cup merely six years ago – finished at the bottom of the Group B rankings.
Embed from Getty ImagesFast-forward to this week, and Ireland and Zimbabwe have proven their credentials on the next stage up – against the likes of England and Pakistan.
The successes of the Irish and Zimbabwean sides, as well as the competitiveness of the prior group stage, provide arguably the best case for not only expanding the format of Cricket World Cups, but a shift in international T20 cricket as a whole.
What would an expanded T20 World Cup look like?
This year’s T20 World Cup was split into two stages, with the world’s top eight T20 sides automatically qualifying for the ‘Super 12s’ stage.
Prior to the Super 12s were the group stages, with the top two teams from each pool of four progressing to face off against the eight previous qualifiers.
While it gives a nice warm-up to the tournament and provides immediate competitiveness for the countries aiming to qualify, sides like Namibia, the UAE and Scotland have certainly proven their capabilities and would benefit immensely from playing series against countries like Australia, India and England.
16 teams have featured in this edition of the T20 World Cup, and four groups of four teams would give the tournament a refreshing and more interesting edge.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe 2024 T20 World Cup, slated to be played in the USA and West Indies, is already set for a shake-up of this kind to its format.
The tournament will feature 20 teams, split into four groups of five, with the top two from each qualifying for a ‘Super 8s’ stage – essentially an expanded finals series.
This is already a step in the right direction. Outside of the two host nations, and the top ten teams from this year’s T20 World Cup, there’s a unique chance for some of cricket’s less experienced nations to qualify.
There are eight places up for grabs, with qualifying tournaments for Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Pacific and even Europe set to take place over the next few months, with countries like Japan, Canada, Denmark and Italy among potential qualifiers.
This is a huge opportunity for the world’s associate T20 sides, with so many nations able to qualify for a spot in a huge T20 World Cup tournament.
And it should be the model going forward, with the ability to give more game and media exposure to cricket boards and countries that are less resourced.
What about outside of the T20 World Cup?
It shouldn’t just stop at just World Cups either. Countries like Ireland and Zimbabwe, who traditionally play far less cricket against top international sides like Australia, England and India, should be playing more against these nations to strengthen their international experience.
Zimbabwe is an excellent case study for this. It recorded a historic ODI victory on Aussie soil during the bilateral series in August, but looking ahead to the recently-released Future Tours Programme (FTP), is not scheduled to face Australia, England or India in any format between 2023 and 2027.
The likes of Ireland, Afghanistan and Bangladesh all feature on Australia’s FTP, however, but sparingly.
Australia cancelled a home test against Afghanistan ahead of last summer’s Ashes, and since 2020, has twice postponed a Test tour of Bangladesh due to COVID-19.
Pandemic aside, however, it’s time that Australia, England and India, as world cricket’s ‘big three’, give proper diligence and respect to supporting associate cricket.
It’s an ideal starting point that Australia is set to face Ireland, Afghanistan and Bangladesh throughout the next few years, but this T20 World Cup has proven that bilateral cricket against these nations would provide a great contest.
T20 cricket is taking more and more precedence as the international cricket fixture continues to expand, and countries like Ireland and Zimbabwe are thriving among fierce competition, despite the minimal opportunity they’re afforded against the bigger countries.
Embed from Getty ImagesContinuing to grow the game and helping to strengthen these nations should be among the key priorities for Australia and its top-level counterparts.
A re-structure of T20 World Cups would certainly be the first step to this, and continuing to support associate cricket through competition even outside ICC tournaments is ultimately something to strive for.
