Cricket Australia supported culling minnow nations from the World Cup, while saying the length of the recent one-day showcase robbed Australia of momentum.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced four minnow nations won’t contest the next World Cup, to be staged in Australia and New Zealand in 2015.
Only the 10 Test playing nations – Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies and Zimbabwe – will feature.
The ICC move comes amid criticism of the most recent World Cups for protracted length and lopsided games between the traditional powers and weaker ICC associate nations.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said Australia’s schedule for the World Cup was “unsatisfactory”.
“The Australian team had two seven-day breaks at one stage and in that period, the only cricket they were playing was against minnow countries,” Sutherland told AAP on Tuesday.
“So from our point of view, we went a bit stale there in the middle (of the tournament).
“I’m not making excuses, but it was difficult for the team to build any momentum into what proved to be a clutch match against Pakistan immediately before the quarter-finals.
“The batsmen hadn’t faced full member attack for nigh on a month.”
Australia, whose pool match against a strong Sri Lankan side was washed out, ultimately were beaten in a quarter-final by eventual champions India.
Sutherland said having 10 nations compete in 2015 was ideal.
“The decision to go to a 10 team competition is something we’re very supportive of,” he said.
“In a format sense, we have seen that 14 teams doesn’t work, we have seen 16 teams in the past doesn’t work.
“We believe 10 teams will be a really good format for the event, perhaps it might be a one round league where everyone plays each other once and then a semi-final and a final.
“The ICC needs to make those decisions, but when you think about that as a format, every match has great context … and we will see some really good quality cricket.”
The ICC action was blasted by Ireland, who scored an upset victory over England in the recent World Cup but have been punted from the 2015 tournament.
“I cannot think of a decision which is less cognisant of the principles of sport and fair play than the one that has been taken,” Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom told the Irish Times.
The ICC said the 2019 World Cup in England would also be contested by 10 nations but there would be a qualification process, yet to be detailed.
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