ICC grant Netherlands and Nepal T20 international status

Having lost their ODI status last year, T20I status comes as good news for Netherlands cricket

Two new teams have been granted T20 International statius in the latest annual conference of the ICC board in Melbourne. Netherlands and Nepal impressed many with their performances in 2014 ICC World T20, and the ICC board has decided to reward the two nations by granting them T20 International status.

Nepal qualified for their first T20 World Cup this year, and generated massive support back home. Netherlands qualified for the World T20 in grand fashion by defeating Ireland in a record-breaking match, before giving South Africa a scare in the main tournament. They then finally caused the upset against England, beating them by 45 runs.

The two associate countries now join Afghanistan, Ireland, Hong Kong, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and UAE in the list of associates to have T20 international status.

The ICC Board has also disapproved the American Cricket Federation, instead recognizing the USA Cricket Association (USACA) as its official member in the USA.

Apart from these decisions, a few changes to international playing conditions will also take place. Here is the list of changes that were passed by the ICC’s Cricket Committee and have also been approved by the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) of the ICC. The changes approved will take effect from the 1st of October later this year:

1. Content with the trial of allowing fresh DRS reviews after 80 overs in Test cricket, which was introduced last year, ICC has decided to extend it by another 12 months.
2. ICC have also addressed a recent nuisance, in Test cricket, of fast bowlers heading in to the dressing room for a breather after a spell of bowling. The ICC Board has decided that a bowler who has spent time off the field will be allowed to resume bowling only after he has either spent the same period of time on the field or has been back on the field of play for 30 overs, whichever is earlier.
3. In T20 internationals, teams will now have 85 minutes to complete their set of overs rather than 80, as was the case earlier.
4. The most welcome of all the changes, especially from a spinner’s viewpoint, is the ruling by the ICC that international venues must have their boundary ropes pushed as far back as possible in order to provide a fair opportunity to the bowlers in their contest with the batsmen.

The CEC had recommended that all members of the ICC must put pen to paper on the bilateral agreements up to 2023 prior to the next ICC meeting in October. The ICC board has nodded in agreement with the CEC and passed the recommendation. The ICC Board “expressed satisfaction that there was now more certainty around long-term scheduling with a reasonable balance between home and away matches for all ten teams as well as between the three formats.”