Specials – When Papua New Guinea defeated Bangladesh

With Papua New Guinea about to take on Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup later today, it is a good time to revisit the first meeting between the two countries. Almost four decades earlier, in the English summer of 1982, the two teams were part of the 60-over ICC Trophy, as the World Cup Qualifier […]

Specials – Associate nations at the World Cup, Part 3

As seen in Part 2, Zimbabwe became the ninth Test nation in 1992, thus opening up further opportunities for the Associates to partake at the World Cup. Moreover, the next two editions of the World Cup saw 12 teams in action, which meant that three spots were up for grabs for the Associates in […]

Specials – Associate nations at the World Cup, Part 2

Having revisited the fortunes of Associate nations at the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979 in Part 1 of this five-part series, we move ahead to the next three editions – held in England in 1983, in India and Pakistan in 1987-88, and in Australia and New Zealand in 1991-92. The decade […]

Specials – Associate nations at the World Cup, Part 1

Thanks to the International Cricket Council’s retrograde decision to reduce the number of the teams at the World Cup, the 12th edition of the showpiece event, set to begin in England on May 30, will feature only ten teams – the least number of teams since the 1992 edition. More tellingly, it will […]

Specials – Germany’s tryst with the World Cup Qualifier

The 2001 World Cup Qualifier in Canada, then known as the ICC Trophy, featured as many as 24 teams bifurcated into two divisions, with two groups in each division. Among the six teams in Group A of Division Two was Germany, who were participating in the ICC Trophy for the first time. This remains […]

Who Would Have Thought It – The day the Barramundis ran amok

As many as 16 teams took part in the 1986 ICC Trophy in England, vying for the single spot available for non-Test nations in the 1987 World Cup. It was Zimbabwe who ultimately made it, defeating the Netherlands in the final to qualify for their second successive World Cup. The tournament featured plenty […]