Published: Mar 12, 2016, 11:08 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 12, 2016, 11:13 AM (IST)
The Ireland captain William Porterfield raised voice on Associate and Affiliate Nations alongside Netherlands who were knocked out from ICC World Twenty20 (T20) 2016 due to rains at Dharamsala on Friday. Netherlands captain, Peter Borren was also upset on the way Netherlands were ousted from the tournament and spoke about the lack of opportunities for associate nations at International field. Porterfield, who had previously voiced his concern for more chances after his side overcame the West Indian challenge in the 50-over World Cup in 2015. On Friday, Porterfield was out of the tournament and was unavailable for any comments for being ousted, as reported on Cricbuzz. READ: I have unfinished business with Australia: William Porterfield
“I haven’t heard Peter’s interview so I don’t know what he has said but yeah this has been the bugbear for a while. That is why the ICC has the tournament in two phases because they will lose a lot of revenue if one of the top nations go out to any of us in the early rounds,” Porterfield exclaimed. Ireland skipper also mentioned about other sports expanding themselves and sport like cricket which is taking a different route currently. “It doesn’t happen in any other sport. Every sport grows their competition. Football has increased the number of teams for the 2023 world cup. Rugby have done the same. They are looking to progress their games. It is a shame that the ICC at the top level insist on cutting teams.” READ: Netherlands team in ICC T20 World Cup 2016, Preview: Trying to shake off the underdog tag
“It has fallen on deaf ears a lot of time. After the last World Cup, there were quite a few people at the top table who were quite happy that we missed out on run rate. Makes it a bit easier for them because they can ignore all the comments and let it die over time. This is what happens,” an angry Porterfield opined. The current situation is grim for these sides but Porterfield vowed to keep fighting. “It is frustrating from our point of view. We will keep fighting. We have got good performances on the pitch. We come to every big event. Not just big events, we have got four big games this year. Two against Sri Lanka and two against Pakistan at home. Those are the games we have to win especially on home soil to put more pressure on to get even more fixtures,” he said.
