ICC World Cup: Porterfield slams ICC for supporting big teams
Ireland's William Porterfield lashed out at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for favoring the big teams. He said that the board has an obsession with big cheques. The player's comments come after his side bowed out of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers. Ireland lost to Afghanistan in a virtual semi-final encounter. Here is what Porterfield said about the ICC.
Porterfield criticises ICC for being money oriented
Porterfield questioned the board on why only two teams, from the ICC Qualifiers, are being selected for the mega event. An angry Porterfield said that the ICC is biased towards the big teams. He added that more games of these big teams help the board earn 'bigger cheques'. He also opined that many associate nations are leaving without money from the 2018 Qualifiers.
Not looking forward to the World Cup
With the World Cup berths sealed, Porterfield feels smaller nations are not looking forward to the coveted tournament and it is like robbing them of their potential. Several teams are now clueless about what will happen after the Qualifiers.
All you need to know about ICC 2019 World Cup
The ICC cut down the number of participating teams to just 10 for the 2019 mega event to be held in England. The 10 teams will be playing each other in a round-robin competition. Every team is assured of nine matches in the World Cup and four top teams will enter the knockouts. The six-week event dates from May 30 to July 14.
Teams that joined the event from the Qualifiers
West Indies and Afghanistan are the two teams that qualified for the coveted tournament. Afghans' victory over Ireland assured them of a qualification. Prior to this, Ireland have appeared in three World Cups (2007, 2011 and 2015).
