Tony Irish , the boss of the international players ’ union , has criticised the ICC over their decision to cut the 2019 World Cup in England to 10 teams , saying : ‘ The global game needs a global view. ’ With the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan – two of the more engaging sides in this year ’ s tournament – in danger of missing out on qualification in four years ’ time , the ICC have faced tough questions over their commitment to spreading the game beyond its 10 Test-playing Full Members . But Irish ’ s comments , part of a wide-ranging interview with Sportsmail about some of the major issues faced by international cricket , carry particular significance : FICA , the Federation of International Cricketers ’ Associations of which he is chief executive , represents the players unions in England , Australia , Bangladesh , New Zealand , Sri Lanka , South Africa and West Indies . Tony Irish , the South African boss of the international players ’ union , says cricket needs a global view and not a 10-game World Cup that the ICC has planned for 2019 that will exclude the likes of Ireland ( above ) Fans of Afghanistan , who have n't been disgraced in their first World Cup in Australia and New Zealand . In other words , he is speaking on behalf of the majority of the world ’ s top cricketers . ‘ FICA takes a global view on the game , ’ said Irish . ‘ One of the objectives must be to try to grow the global game . The opportunity for other countries to participate in the World Cup , the pinnacle tournament , is important . ‘ However , we do accept the challenge relating to the length of the event . We think we should look at reformatting the event , perhaps into four pools , or having a pre-qualifier. ’ Irish , whose push for FICA to play a greater role in determining the game ’ s future has not been helped by India ’ s refusal to form their own players ’ union , said the format of future World Cups should not be influenced by the TV-driven desire to guarantee as many group matches as possible for the Indians . Afghan and New Zealand playes come together after their World Cup pool A match in Napier . ‘ One can understand that from a commercial point of view , and from the point of view of satisfying the biggest cricket market , ’ he said . ‘ But you ’ ve got to balance against that the fact that a sporting event is a sporting event , and if a team performs poorly in a particular format , then that ’ s how the results go . The growth of the game is equally important . ‘ The ICC has 105 members – 10 Full Members , and a number of competitive Associate members . The important thing is that the body that administers the global game needs to have a global view. ’ Irish , who also heads up the South African players ’ association , questioned how Associate nations were supposed to get exposure against the Full Members when the international schedule is already full to bursting . India have n't got a players ' union which hinders the international union 's powers to push for an inclusive game . He said : ‘ There ’ s very little framework any more to the Future Tours Programme . It ’ s not being governed by a set of principles which allows… cricket to have a greater context . It ’ s a lot of individual agreements between countries , which are just plugged into a matrix . ‘ It ’ s a pity the world Test championship has been shelved . The team rankings give some sort of context , but they ’ re extremely difficult to understand. ’ And Irish is concerned that the takeover of the ICC by the Indian , English and Australian boards last year will result in an increasingly unlevel playing field at international level . Though the ICC have promised more funds to all Full Members and the best six Associate teams as a result of their latest broadcasting deal , many are worried that the Big Three will pull away from the Small Seven because they will simply schedule more lucrative series against between themselves . Under the old FTP , teams were obliged to play each other home and away every four years in series of at least two Tests and three one-day internationals . Now , the fixture list is drawn up on the basis of individual agreements between teams . ‘ The fear is that the stronger countries will just play each other more and more , and the weaker countries will have less opportunity to play the stronger countries , ’ said Irish . ‘ The rich get richer , and the poor get poorer. ’ For a full transcript of the interview , click here .
The ICC has cut the 2019 World Cup to be held in England to two teams . Players unions from the top Test playing nations call move short-sighted . Union boss Tony Irish said 'the global game of cricket needs a global view ' Rather than less teams , they say the Cup 's format should be revisited . A two-team Cup almost certainly means the likes of Ireland wo n't be there . FICA represents players ' unions from most Test-playing nations , not India .