Once in a generation, there comes a rare moment where an organization gets an opportunity to take a major decision and change the game.

I reckon now is one such moment for the ICC. Kathryn Bryce’s magic has ensured that the Scotland women’s team qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup. The men’s team has been on the rise for the past five years.

The women’s victory fueled social media with calls for Full Membership to Scotland. That made me wonder—What exactly are all the criteria to become a full member?

I read the 5-page document, ICC Membership Criteria: Application Process, Re-Classification and Retention of Membership (approved 22 June 2017, amended 13 July 2023) so you don’t have to. Here is the breakdown.

Full Member Criteria: What Do The Official ICC Documents Say?

According to ICC’s website, Clause 2.1 outlines 22 conditions that need to be satisfied to even apply for full membership.

You read that correctly, twenty-two. Here are some of the major highlights.

1. Have appropriate structure for both men’s and women’s cricket
2. Generate a minimum of 10% of their own total revenues for four years prior to applying
3. A debt to equity ratio of not more than 2:1 in the past four years
4. Features on the Men’s ODI Ranking table
5. Should have qualified for 3 Men’s ODI & T20 WC in past eight years
6. Have defeated at least one Full Member in the Top 10 in a Men’s Cricket World Cup, World Cup Qualifier, or the T20 World Cup
7. Have won at least four times against two or more Full Members in bilaterals in the past 8 years
8. Have participated in at least one Women’s WC (ODI or T20) in the past 4 years or feature in the women’s ODI ranking table
9. Have participated in two editions of the U-19 WC in the past 8 years
10. Have domestic structure (Men’s 50-over and 20-over competitions with List A status and at least 3 teams)
11. Have ‘satisfactory’ women’s pathway structures and junior men’s pathway structures in place
12. Have ‘sustained and sufficient pool of players’ in senior men’s, women’s, and U-19 men’s teams
13. Have ‘strong domestic participation levels’ and ‘evidence of significant growth’ in the past 8 years
14. Have 2 ICC accredited venues
15. Has talent/coaching/umpire/curator development programs over the past 4 years

Once they fulfill all the conditions, boards can write to the ICC with an ‘intent to apply’ and complete the written application after which there will be a preliminary assessment, reviews, and even a possible inspection.

How Did Afghanistan Qualify?

I know what you must be wondering. How in the world did Afghanistan qualify (and not lose their status) after the Taliban takeover, where higher education was banned for girls?

At the very end of the document, the ICC conveniently slips in Clause 3.5, which states

“In its sole discretion, and where the Applicant is able to demonstrate exceptional circumstances justifying its inability to satisfy one or more of the applicable Membership criteria, the Membership Committee may recommend the acceptance of the application notwithstanding the fact that the Applicant does not satisfy all of the relevant Membership criteria.”

Scotland now meet more of the ICC full member performance criteria than two current ICC full members.

— Andrew Nixon (@andrewnixon79@mastodon.world) (@andrewnixon79) May 5, 2024

Full Membership No Longer Equals Test Status

Growing up, I always had the impression that Full Membership = Test Status, but the word ‘Test’ does not even appear once on the ICC Membership Criteria document.

The ICC differentiates Full Members vs Associate members as follows:

“Full Members are the governing bodies for cricket of a country recognised by the ICC, or nations associated for cricket purposes, or a geographical area, from which representative teams are qualified to play official Test matches (12 Members).”

“Associate Members are the governing bodies for cricket of a country recognised by the ICC, or countries associated for cricket purposes, or a geographical area, which does not qualify as a Full Member, but where cricket is firmly established and organised (94 Members).”

Hence, Full Membership means there is a pathway to Test status, but nowhere does it claim that playing Test cricket is a necessity for Full Members.

Should Newer Full Members Even Play Test Cricket?

Okay, a slight digression. Should newer full members even play Test cricket?

As Ireland have found out, it is not cheap to host Test cricket. In fact, it causes more financial strain to the national boards. Ireland won their first Test seven years after their Test status, but scheduling Test matches? Well, that’s a whole another matter.

Cricket Ireland famously cancelled a Test against Bangladesh and replaced it with a T20 series because they would lose a million pounds for that one Test.

The sad truth is cricket boards outside the Big 3 lose money while hosting a Test match (READ here for the Full In-Depth Financial Breakdown for Hosting a Test).

I am all for a ‘Test fund’ that was proposed a decade ago, innovations in Test cricket, or a two-tiered World Test Championship with relegation & promotion, but forcing a cricket board to play Test cricket can bring down the financial situation of the entire sport in the country.

"We should give the Scotland men's team Test Status"
is a pretty weird reaction to the Scotland women's team qualifying for a T20 World Cup to be honest. https://t.co/ve8eb7dQZt

— Bertus de Jong (@BdJcricket) May 6, 2024

County Cricket Rules Need to Change

Apart from finances, Ireland’s elevation to Test status did more harm than good.

Irish cricketers used to be considered domestic players and therefore, the golden generation – Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Tim Murtagh, etc. played as domestic cricketers in the County circuit. However, post 2017, they have had to sign up as overseas players which County teams may be reluctant to do.

If Scotland does accept to play Test cricket, adjustments would need to be made in County Cricket rules.

Show Me the Money

If not Test cricket, what is Full Membership all about?

Let’s be real. It’s all about the money.

In the proposed financial model for 2024-2027, Afghanistan and Ireland are projected to receive 2.80% and 3.18% from the ICC respectively.

Group	Projected Earning	Percentage of the Total
#2-10* Combined	$249,350,000	41.55%
India	$231,000,000	38.5%
Associate Nations	$67,160,000	11.19%
Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe	$52,500,000	8.45%

• *#2-10 include England ($41.33 million), Australia ($37.53 million), Pakistan ($34.51 million), New Zealand ($28.38 million),l West Indies ($27.50 million), Sri Lanka ($27.12 million), South Africa ($26.24 million), and Bangladesh ($26.74 million).
• Ireland ($17.64 million), Zimbabwe ($17.64 million), and Afghanistan ($16.82 million) relatively earn less but a larger chunk than the Associate nations.
• Currently $67.16 million is divided among 94 Associate Members. On average, each Associate member gets about $714,468, which is substantially less than what Ireland and Afghanistan now receive.

If a cricket board receives Full Membership, then they are ensured a small piece of the annual funding pie. What’s more? They will get regular FTP matches against the top teams helping them improve further. ICC already earns enough money from World Cups that they have surplus to distribute to their members. Adding two more members and changing the redistribution of wealth will not change much.

Should Scotland and Netherlands Receive Full Member Status?

Let’s get back to the heart of the topic, should countries like Scotland and Netherlands receive Full Member Status?

In 2000, Bangladesh were gifted Full Membership and Test status after winning the 1997 ICC Trophy, defeated Kenya in 1998, and defeating Scotland & Pakistan in the 1999 ODI World Cup. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Women’s Team only made their international debut in 2007 and gained ODI status in 2011 (qualified for the 2014 T20 WC as hosts, qualified for the 2022 ODI WC), much after they were elevated to Full Status.

I argue that Scotland and Netherlands have already done much more than Bangladesh ever did prior being elevated to Full Member Status.

Scotland in ICC Tournaments

Let’s look at Scotland. The men’s team has already defeated the likes of England & West Indies, featured in multiple World Cups, have a growing women’s team, and have a couple of solid venues.

Timeline

Here is a quick timeline of their recent past. Scotland have perhaps suffered more than any other team with the curtailed 10-team World Cup format, narrowly losing out on two consecutive ODI World Cups despite playing extremely good cricket.

• 1992: Becomes an independent cricket Associate Member
• 1997: Ends 3rd in the ICC Trophy and qualifies for the 1999 ODI World Cup
• 2004: Wins the ICC Intercontinental Cup
• 2012: Defeats Bangladesh in a T20 match
• 2017: Defeats Zimbabwe in an ODI match
• 2018: Defeat Afghanistan, UAE, Nepal, Hong Kong, (and tied against Zimbabwe), *lost against West Indies due to DLS/rain
• 2018: Defeats England by 6 runs after scoring 371
• 2022: Defeats West Indies in the T20 World Cup
• 2022: Scotland women team get ODI status
• 2023: Defeat West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland, UAE, Oman but fall one spot short of the 10-team ODI World Cup
• 2024: Scotland women qualify for the T20 World Cup

World Cup Records

• ODI WC: Qualified for the 1999 (0/5), 2007 (0/3), 2015 (0/6)
• T20 WC: Qualified for 2007 (0/2, 1 NR), 2009 (0/2), 2016 (1/3), 2021 (3/8), 2022 (1/3)

*Note: Scotland have featured in 4/5 U-19 World Cups in the last 8 years.

*NR – No Result

Netherlands in ICC Tournaments

Timeline

Netherlands have had a dream couple of years and even qualified for the 2023 ODI World Cup. They have defeated South Africa, England, and West Indies, and their women’s team even reached the quarterfinals in 1997.

• 1988: Women’s team qualify for the 1988 ODI World Cup
• 1994: Men’s team ends 3rd in the ICC Trophy and qualifies for the 1996 ODI World Cup
• 1997: Women’s team qualify for the quarterfinal
• 2001: Wins the ICC Trophy
• 2003: Defeats Namibia in the 2003 ODI World Cup
• 2006: Get ODI status
• 2007: Women play a Test match against South Africa
• 2009: Defeats England in the T20 World Cup
• 2010: Defeats Bangladesh in the ODI World Cup
• 2014: Chased 193 in 13.5 overs against Ireland to qualify for the Super 10s
• 2014: Gained T20 Status
• 2014: Lose ODI status
• 2018: Regain ODI Status
• 2020-23: Played 24 ODIs in the ODI Super League
• 2022: Defeats South Africa in the T20 WC
• 2023: Defeats West Indies (in Super Over after scoring 374), Nepal, USA, Oman, Scotland to qualify for the WC
• 2023: Defeats South Africa in the ODI WC

World Cup

• WODI WC: 1988 (0/8), 1993 (1/7), 1997 (1/5, 1 NR), 2000 (0/7)
• MODI WC: 1996 (0/5), 2003 (1/6), 2007 (1/3), 2011 (0/6), 2023 (2/9)
• MT20 WC: 2009 (1/2), 2014 (3/7), 2016 (1/3), 2021 (0/3), 2022 (4/8)

*Netherlands has not participated in U-19 World Cups in the last 8 years. They only qualified in the 2000 U-19 World Cup.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Dutch no longer use the word ‘Associate’ among themselves. It’s time the rest of the World doesn’t either.

In my eyes, the ICC should have awarded Full Member Status to Scotland the moment Safyaan Sharif bowled that toe crushing yorker against England in 2018. Scoring 374 against the near future world champions was a sign of Scotland’s growth in men’s cricket.

It’s clear that these two countries have done more than Bangladesh and Afghanistan for over three decades now (and are doing better than Zimbabwe has been in recent years).

Sure, there may be a checkbox here or there that these two cricket boards may not have hit, but they have done almost everything right.

Dear ICC, it is my honest request. I plead you to give Scotland and Netherlands Full Membership.

If that means, use Clause 3.5, wave some hands, and give out some funds, then why not?

If not now, when? Take the chance.

It’s time for the European Cricket Dream. Let’s make it happen.

If you like these kinds of in-depth deep dives on finances and administration of cricket, check out the following:

• Quota System in South African Cricket and Transformation Policy – The Complete Guide: Official Policy, Myths, Stats, and the 2015 World Cup Controversy
• An Open Letter to the ICC: 14 Points & Cricket’s League of Nations Proposal for Survival of the Sport
• Technology in Cricket (The Definitive Guide): Economics & Cost of the Review System, DRS, Hawkeye, Ultraedge, LED Bails, and More!
• How Much Do Different Types of Cricketers Earn Per Year (2022)?
• Top 12 Richest Cricket Boards (RANKED 2023): Which Cricket Board Has the Highest Net Worth—BCCI, CA, ECB, CSA, or PCB?

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, LLC 2023. Originally published on 05/06/2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).