Associate nations are certainly not the strongest contenders for the 50-over World Cup. But they are certainly doing the damage to the best teams. Sometimes, some of the associate team, like Ireland, has shocked the world. This clearly shows that they deserve much more respect than they get.
Achievements of the Associate nations in the 50 over World Cup:
There is no doubt, that Associate nations have had several achievements, due to which they surprised the cricket fans. You’ll be surprised to know that there are a total of 108 ICC members, and out of that, only 12 are full members, and the other 96 are associate members.
Netherlands Vs. England in the 2011 World Cup
People were expecting the Netherlands to have crumbled in front of England’s bowling within 200 runs. However, the Netherlands had a different and stronger mindset. They went on to score 292 runs in 50 overs, against all the odds. But the highlight of the Netherlands performance was Ryan Ten Doeschate. He went on to score a world cup hundred. He scored 119 runs, only on 110 balls. This was truly a fantastic performance. The Netherlands lost the match but certainly won respect.
Canada vs. West Indies in 2003 World Cup
The highlight of the world cup was the Century by JM Davison. It was not only a century. It was the fastest century by any player in the history of the fifty-overs world cup. That certainly surprised the world. Davison scored this century only on 67 balls. However, even after such a fantastic century, they were able to set a target of only 203 in front of the West Indies. In the end West Indies went on to win the match, but the highlight of the game was Davison’s knock.
Ireland vs. England in the 2011 World Cup
This was certainly one of the biggest surprises in the history of the world cup. Ireland was an associate team at that time. And they were chasing the target of 328 in 50 overs. Everybody knew, that there was no way that an associate team would go on to win the match. They not only won the match, but Kevin O’Brien went on to score the fastest world cup hundred, only in fifty balls. And that is, to date, a record. After a few years, Ireland became a full member.
So, these are the best performances of the Associate nations. They know how to surprise and make the damage. These instances makes them a dangerous competitor.
