"Ireland must show they deserve WC"

Ireland coach Phil Simmons believes Ireland must prove they are worthy of a place at the ICC Cricket World Cup after being handed a route back into the tournament by the ICC.

Ireland will be expected to qualify for their third consecutive World Cup in 2015 after the ICC announced yesterday that four associate nations will play in Australia and New Zealand.
That represented a significant reversal of the ICC's thinking, after only two months ago it announced it no longer wanted to have a 14-team World Cup and that the tournament would be restricted to only its full members.

The ruling was, however, met with widespread condemnation with Ireland's impressive performances at the past two World Cups at the heart of criticism.

The fact the ICC bowed to the pressure is perhaps a reflection on the strides Ireland have made on the international stage, however Simmons wants more from his upcoming side.

The Irish have played the spoiler's role at their two World Cup appearances - reaching the last eight in 2007 before this year's tournament was highlighted by a memorable win over England.

Simmons, however, believes his side, currently ranked 10th in the world, must now take the next step and become a force on the international stage.

"The real work starts now. We've got to show the ICC and the full members that we can perform in the final stages," the former West Indies all-rounder said.

"That means reaching semi-finals and finals, not just the occasional shock. We've got to take our cricket to the next level and show we belong as a right at these global events."

Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom labelled the ICC's choice to reverse their initial decision as courageous, and admitted the ramifications of missing the World Cup would have set the country's progress back significantly.

"I would say from a narrow Irish perspective, the growth we've enjoyed in the game - is primarily as a result of the World Cup," he told Sky Sports News.

"It shone a light on Irish cricket and through profile you get interest, through interest you get investment and through investment you receive resource.

"That allows you to invest in the game."

He added: "Then also, from a player's perspective, a World Cup allows a player to have an aspiration. We've grown our numbers from 2007 to 2011 by 66%.

"We put so much of that down to the success at an ICC CWC because for the very first time, rather than looking overseas to have heroes, we think your average Irish cricket fan can now look to Irishmen as cricketing heroes - and that is a massive seismic shift.

"If we were to remove the ICC CWC we would remove all of that potential."