Ireland crying out for more matches: William Porterfield

William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, has reiterated his views that the International Cricket Council's (ICC) plans to reduce the number of Associates-level teams at the next World Cup is hampering their development.

"Obviously, if we didn't get that opportunity to qualify back in 2007, I don't think cricket would be where it is now in Ireland. It is the fastest growing sport in the country. You only have to go back home and take a look at what is happening in the game. We are in a position to move on," he told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.

"So it is very frustrating, not only from our point of view but for anyone who had to qualify for a World Cup. Thankfully we have done for the last few years to get the ball rolling back home. The decision to reduce the teams is going to make it very difficult. The talk about giving yourself an opportunity to qualify automatically, that is fair, but we don't play enough games to qualify automatically."

A lack of opportunities to play against Full Member teams has been a theme Porterfield has spoken of before, and during the World Cup he had strong views on the ICC's move to reduce the number of teams at the 2019 World Cup to ten. After Ireland lost to Pakistan in their final match of the tournament, he shot back a terse reply to a question about whether the ICC was justified in looking at the Associates' performances. A couple of days later, Porterfield tweeted sarcastically to the ICC's official handle about his displeasure about the reducing of teams from 14 to 10 at the next World Cup.

Once again, Porterfield pointed to the limited number of matches Ireland and other Associates get to play against bigger teams. "We played nine ODIs against top-ten teams in the last four years between the World Cups, which is nothing. That is much less than what a top-ten nation would play. Even if we had won those nine games against the opposition, we wouldn't have finished eighth in the world," he said. "We have to play more games to get to that stage. Arranging fixtures is very difficult with teams that are around you in the rankings because they are also looking to playing teams above them, to move on. Obviously it is very difficult for the board to arrange the fixtures. So, anything that can be done to help us get through will be great. To actually finish eighth is not going to be difficult only for us but for anyone that is around us today."Asked about the England & Wales Cricket Board's support of the reduction of teams at the 2019 World Cup, Porterfield expressed his disappointment.

"We play England every other year in ODIs. They are just 40 minutes away by flight. We can play a lot more often. Teams tour England a lot. It would be ideal for them, even if not a triangular series, to play two or three ODIs against us before or after playing England," he said. "That could be worked into the schedule pretty easily. That could be a very viable option that can be explored. That is what we are crying out for. The public in Ireland are crying out for that as well, to see more cricket against the top-ten teams, especially in Ireland."

Ireland, in three World Cups, have managed to beat at least one Full Member team. In 2007, when they made their tournament debut, they beat Pakistan in the first round. In 2011, they chased 327 against England, while this year that started their campaign in New Zealand by chasing 300-plus against West Indies. Such success, according to Porterfield, showed that Ireland belong at the top.

"We have shown that we are moving on and breaking through, and we have been beating teams around us and teams above us. Look at the likes of Sri Lanka with players like [Kumar] Sangakkara and [Mahela] Jayawardene - what they said during the World Cup, that if they didn't get the opportunity when they did, Sri Lanka wouldn't have won the World Cup back then," he said. "I'm not saying that would be the case with us as well, but that shows what can be done, and we see it in all sports, not just cricket. If opportunities are given, then they do that. It is very frustrating that the ICC is reducing teams as opposed to growing the teams in the World Cup. Basically it would be another glorified Champions Trophy being played every two years.

"You have to be talking about inclusion. The fact that there are Full Members, and Associates, and Affiliates - different names and structures - that could be one of the things that could be done away with. You have got a ranking system, I don't see why international teams around the world have to be pigeonholed into different categories and names. I don't see why we have to be an Associate and someone else gets to be a Full Member. I don't see why it exists really."