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Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera has said support from family, the board, and fans kept him upbeat through his five-month suspension due to doping charges that have now been withdrawn by the ICC

Andrew Fidel Fernando12-May-2016Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera has said support from family, the board, and fans kept him upbeat through his five-month suspension due to doping charges that have now been withdrawn by the ICC.Sangakkara wants Perera for England tour

“Before this tour he’d have been at the T20 World Cup, opening with [Tillakaratne] Dilshan which would have been a huge advantage for us because he’s a fantastic player,” Kumar Sangakkara said during an event in London.
“I’m extremely confused as to what has happened, the labs in Qatar came back with an adverse finding in one of his urine samples and named the steroid that was found, then over the last few days they have withdrawn that, saying there’s been a mistake. The poor boy has been out for quite a long time. [He’s] 24-25, one of the most exciting talents we have, a wicketkeeper, a strong batsman.
“I hope they do [fly him out for the England tour] because when you’ve got through something like that the best support is to be allowed to play cricket again. He’s good enough to be here. But the sad fact is that when you are provisionally banned, you can’t even train, using the facilities that international teams use.
“A sad situation but thankfully that’s all over, he can carry on what he loves doing, but unfortunately Sri Lanka has lost a remarkable player for quite some time now.”

He had been preparing for the Test leg of the New Zealand tour when he was informed of having failed a doping Test. In addition to that tour, he also missed a bilateral T20 series in India, the Asia Cup and the World T20 due to the suspension.”I think people believed me through the whole ordeal,” Perera said. “I said I hadn’t taken illegal then, and I still say it now. The board believed me, and the media believed me and left me alone. The fans also believed me, so I don’t think there has been much damage done to my reputation.”His plight appeared bleak when his initial sample had tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug, 19-Norandrostenedione, but it grew bleaker when the B sample returned identical results, in January. Perera said that despite the findings, he was intent on maintaining his innocence.”People told me after the B sample also was shown to have the substance, that it would be better to accept my fault and hope for a shorter ban. But I didn’t want to accept a wrong that I hadn’t actually committed. If there had been any wrongdoing, I would have accepted it. For four years I had played with no problem.”Perera had also spent a substantial amount of his own money in fighting the WADA-approved lab’s findings. His campaign to be cleared had included a trip to England for a polygraph test, a hair analysis and a separate urine test, as well as substantial coordination with his main legal team, which was based in the UK. He received news of his being cleared on Wednesday evening, but he had already begun to focus on making a return to the game, he said.”I can’t think much about the personal cost to me, because all I want to do is play cricket again. I’ve been out of the game for five months. I need to get back to practice soon. I’m really not thinking much about the financial losses. The first priority is to play for Sri Lanka and get back to form.”Perera is theoretically available for Sri Lanka’s Tests in England, which begin on May 19, but appears unlikely to join the squad immediately, as he has been forced to miss official team practices or training sessions since December 7. It is conceivable that he will play in the limited-overs leg of the tour to UK and Ireland, which starts on June 16 after the three Tests. There is also a full home tour against Australia in July and August.”The first month of the suspension I couldn’t train much because I was getting a lot of legal advice,” Perera said. “I did try to find time to train with a coach. I also worked on my fitness through the period.”I need to do a bit more practice before I think about tours. That’s how I’ll get my form back. Through this period I couldn’t work with the Sri Lanka trainer, so there will be work to do on my fitness as well.”Perera thanked a range of people for assisting him in both clearing his name, and in staying positive through a difficult period.”I’m very happy about being able to come back to cricket. I got the news from Thilanga Sumathipala last night. I’m really happy that the board and fans trusted me. A lot of people had made supportive comments.”I need to thank by family. My brothers were there for me especially. [My manager] Ravi helped me. And a lot of coaches helped me and gave me words of encouragement as well, which helped me along.”Former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene came out in support of Perera’s charges being cleared.

So happy that matter solved and KJP can play again.Disappointed with system and proses.@ICC player should allow to play until all hearings

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) May 12, 2016

No one is guilty till proven and every one deserves a explanation. Let's learn from this .

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) May 12, 2016

Bayern Munich's Harry Kane has been making the most of a rare Christmas break by relaxing on a tropical beach with his wife and children.

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Kane enjoying rare Christmas breakStriker spotted on beach with wife and kidsBundesliga resumes in two weeksWHAT HAPPENED?

Kane has discovered that one of the perks of joining Bayern Munich is having Christmas off. The former Tottenham man is used to training and playing during the festive period, but this year he and his family are taking full advantage of the Bundesliga winter break.

Instagram (@katekane)AdvertisementWHAT KANE'S WIFE SHARED

Kane's wife, Kate Goodland, used her Instagram stories to share a glimpse into her family's Christmas getaway. The fitness instructor shared a snap of Kane and her three children on a tropical beach, as well as a video of her daughter petting a horse.

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Kane has exceeded all expectations since swapping north London for Bavaria. The England captain has scored 25 goals and laid on eight assists in just 22 games for Bayern, making a mockery of those who doubted he would adapt to playing in a different country.

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WHAT NEXT FOR KANE AND KATE GOODLAND?

Kane spent the first few months of his Bayern career living in a luxury hotel, but he has now found a home for himself and his family. Kate and the kids are expected to join him in Munich after the winter break, perhaps in time to see Kane and Bayern take on Hoffenheim on January 12.

Despite emerging from the chaos with a 4-1 victory over the nine men of Spurs, the Blues were far from convincing

Victory over Tottenham Hotspur should always be sweet for Chelsea and their followers, but Monday night's unlikely 4-1 triumph over their high-flying foes somehow leaves a bitter taste. This was the definition of a scoreline not telling the whole story. While the two managers dominated the pre-match narrative, this was a tale of red cards, VAR drama and self-destructiveness.

Tottenham's implosion – reduced to nine men before the hour mark as Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were dismissed either side of half-time – only seemed to bring the worst out of Mauricio Pochettino's side on the Argentine's return to north London.

They got there in the end as Nicolas Jackson capitalised on Ange Postecoglou's insistence on an inexplicably high line with a late hat-trick, but Chelsea's toil against their depleted rivals made this feel like something of a hollow victory. With more stern tests on the horizon, the performance must actually be seen as a concern.

GettyInexplicable head-loss

Many of Chelsea's initial problems with seizing their numerical advantage stemmed from almost being drawn into Tottenham's storm of ill discipline.

In first-half stoppage time, both Levi Colwill and Reece James found themselves in hot water, moments after Romero had been given his marching orders for a wild lunge and Cole Palmer had brought the Blues level from the spot.

Colwill became engaged in a completely unnecessary shoving match with Pape Sarr, while his captain James escaped punishment after catching Udogie with a stray elbow. Pochettino wisely opted to withdraw a fired-up Colwill at the break, but on another day Chelsea could have easily thrown their advantage away.

AdvertisementGettyLack of confidence & ruthlessness laid bare

Tottenham's second red card in the 55th minute should have seen the floodgates creak open, but instead an excruciating 19-minute spell followed, as Chelsea were foiled by a combination of their own imprecision and profligacy, as well as some excellent goalkeeping from Guglielmo Vicario.

The Blues looked incapable of scoring even if the match had gone on for a week – a microcosm of their problems in front of goal in recent months and years. This was arguably their worst half of football under Pochettino to date.

Passes flew astray, players were caught agonisingly offside and Spurs looked remarkably comfortable despite their two-man handicap. When Jackson found the back of the net for the first time, there was a sense of relief more than anything else. That was the period that saw the outcome swing in the home side's favour, regardless of the result.

GettyNo composure, no control

Pochettino would have hoped that that long-awaited go-ahead goal would steady the ship and Chelsea would be in the ascendancy from that moment onwards, but instead they looked wobbly and their defensive frailties were exposed on three occasions as Spurs missed gilt-edged chances to draw level.

They were incredibly fortunate to see Eric Dier's immediate response chalked off for a marginal offside after some non-existent marking from a free-kick, before a carbon-copy set piece saw Rodrigo Bentancur somehow bundle the ball wide from three yards out.

Then, in the third minute of added time, with the score still just 2-1 almost 40 minutes after Spurs had been reduced to nine, Chelsea gave the ball away and Son Heung-min drove at the defence before forcing a decent save from Sanchez.

Chelsea's lack of authority was alarming, and Pochettino admitted his side needed to show more control after the game. "It's true that we concede some chances that we cannot concede that, I agree with you," he said. "Maybe we can assess the performance and to see the goal of Dier or this type of situation or Son, that we lose the ball and we allow them to run, of course, we need to control better."

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GettyWorrying signs

The scoreline and performance were so wildly mismatched that it's hard to know exactly what effect this result will have. While it should boost confidence, Pochettino also has reason to be concerned – especially given the upcoming fixture list.

Chelsea face Man City, Newcastle, Brighton and Man Utd in their next four games either side of the international break, and you would expect that they will need to hit a much higher level against a full set of players in each of those clashes.

Had Tottenham maintained their full complement, they could have run out comfortable victors over their former head coach.

The Zimbabwe cricket team landed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore at 1.45 am on Tuesday to become the first Full Member nation to tour Pakistan since March 2009

Umar Farooq in Lahore19-May-2015The Zimbabwe cricket team landed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore at 1.45 am on Tuesday to become the first Full Member nation to tour Pakistan since March 2009. Zimbabwe will play two T20Is and three ODIs at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore between May 22 and 31 before departing on June 1.The visitors landed amid extensive security, with thousands of policemen deployed along the 14 kilometre route to a five-star hotel on the Mall Road, which divides the eastern and western parts of Lahore. The touring group – 16 Zimbabwe players, nine team officials and five board officials – was flanked by a large convoy of police commandos, after they had been received by two ministers from the ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz, along with the top brass of the PCB.The streets leading into Mall Road were closed off to traffic, petrol stations along the route were closed, and even the police vehicles on duty had been authenticated to guard against impersonation.”Safe and sound in Lahore … time for rest and training begins tomorrow,” allrounder Sean Williams said on Twitter.Pakistan has remained a no-go destination for major international teams since March 3, 2009, when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus while it was en route to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the third day of the second Test. Eight people were killed during the attack – and some players were injured – at Liberty roundabout, located a kilometre and a half from the stadium.

#PAKvZIM We are in! #cricketthewinner @263Chat @ZiFMStereo @StarfmZimbabwe @ZBCNewsonline pic.twitter.com/N6WLM07yrv

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) May 19, 2015

The incident had occurred when there was political instability in the region, because the Punjab government had been dismissed and replaced by Governor’s rule in the province.Since then, the PCB has been pushing hard to convince teams to tour Pakistan, who have been forced to play their home matches primarily in the UAE. Pakistan invited West Indies A in 2013 but the WICB refused to send the team and asked PCB to host them in UAE, which did not happen.Afghanistan, who received Associate status from the ICC last year, had visited Pakistan several times but their fixtures were low profile. The PCB also had talks with Cricket Ireland last year but the tour was put on hold following terrorist attacks on Karachi airport in June.The PCB had, through the years, used diplomatic channels in a bid to win back lost confidence and there were frequent visits by the European Union delegation at the PCB headquarters. Kenya was the first country from outside the region to accept an offer to tour Pakistan and played five one-dayers last year in December against Pakistan A.However, after in-depth lobbying with Zimbabwe Cricket president Wilson Manase, PCB managed to convince them to play a short series in the country. “It’s their (Zimbabwe) trust and confidence in us which will strengthen our cricketing ties with them,” PCB’s chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed said. “We hope to change the perception of the world about Pakistan and build the confidence of other foreign teams to come here.”Zimbabwe’s arrival in Pakistan came after days of uncertainty over whether they would go ahead with the tour. In the end, Zimbabwe Cricket decided to proceed with the tour against the advice from their country’s Sports and Recreation Committee. The ICC also said it would not send its officials to stand in the games, and allowed the PCB to appoint its own officials.

Former England and Manchester United star David Beckham paid a visit to Harvard Business School to give a talk in front of students.

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Beckham gave talk at Harvard Business SchoolSpoke to students at prestigious universityInter Miami owner posted images on InstagramWHAT HAPPENED?

The Inter Miami co-owner made a surprise appearance at the prestigious American university on Tuesday to deliver a talk to students. Beckham posted images of himself at Harvard on Instagram afterwards.

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The appearance at Harvard is an interesting development for the ex-Real Madrid hero, who came from a working-class background in east London to become a world-famous athlete, starring for Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.

After his playing days ended, he became a co-owner of MLS side Inter Miami.

WHAT THEY SAID

"Who would have thought the boy from east London talks at Harvard," Beckham wrote.

"Huge honour today spending time with [professor Anita Elberse] at Harvard."

Elberse wrote on her own post: "Yes, you’re seeing it right: the legendary [David Becham] was a guest speaker in my [Harvard Business School] MBA class today.

"So amazing to hear him share his thoughts on topics such as his soccer career, his joint venture with Authentic Brands Group, and of course Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF."

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GettyWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

After the international period, Beckham's Inter Miami team will return to MLS action with a match against Charlotte.

Son Heung-min admitted that he "felt pain" during South Korea's World Cup qualifier against Singapore as Tottenham's fitness concerns mount up.

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Son scored in Korea's 5-0 routBut sustained a knee knockForward downplayed the severity of the injuryWHAT HAPPENED?

The 31-year-old forward was on target during Korea's 5-0 rout of Singapore. However, he was in some pain after he was at the receiving end of a knock to his right knee which was concerning for coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Although he went to play until the final whistle, he did reveal that his feet went numb in pain after the tackle.

AdvertisementWHAT SON SAID

Speaking to reporters after the match, Son said: “We are making a team for the World Cup, I can’t give up a game just because I feel pain."

“If I can’t run anymore, then I can’t do anything about it but when I can run, I have to give 100 per cent for the team. I am fine now, I don’t like to lie down [on the pitch] in the winter," he added.

"At that moment [when he went down] I couldn’t feel anything on my foot. I’m fine, no injury. I am not the only one hurting out there. Everyone plays with some bumps and bruises.”

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Ange Postecoglou's men started the season very well until they succumbed to successive defeats to Chelsea and Wolves this month which knocked them off the perch of the league table. Moreover, their injury concerns continue to mount up as apart from Son, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has also left the Italian national team after he complained of flu symptoms. The duo joins a lengthy list of players in the Spurs' treatment room which already has several prominent names like James Maddison, Micky Van de Ven, Richarlison, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon, Alfie Whiteman and Ivan Perisic.

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WHAT NEXT FOR SON AND TOTTENHAM?

Son will continue his journey with South Korea in the World Cup qualifiers when they face China in Shenzhen on Tuesday. After fulfilling his international commitments, he will return to England and will take on Aston Villa on November 26 in a Premier League fixture.

Lancashire retain an outside chance of a third successive victory at Wantage Road, after they took two Northamptonshire wickets before the close on the third day of their Championship match

Press Association05-May-2015
ScorecardPeter Siddle survived to make 89 as Lancashire took a valuable first-innings lead•Getty ImagesLancashire retain an outside chance of a third successive victory at Wantage Road, after they took two Northamptonshire wickets before the close on the third day of their Championship match. The Division Two leaders lead by nine runs, with the home side 42 for 2 in the second innings after Lancashire were dismissed for 436.Overnight rain saw play start two hours later than scheduled, with Lancashire resuming on 216 for 4. A swirling and unremitting gale necessitated the removal of the bails for virtually the whole day’s play; such was its power that, at one stage, the umpires had to make sure the uncovered stumps stayed in the ground.Rory Kleinveldt – who wore a beanie hat underneath his cap for extra warmth in the field – drew the short straw of bowling into the wind. But the powerful South African extracted bounce when Alex Davies chipped the catch to midwicket, after adding just four to his overnight score.Jordan Clark negotiated four balls before edging Kleinveldt behind to Adam Rossington without scoring and, after the first 15 minutes of play, Lancashire were 221 for 6 and still 164 behind.But Ashwell Prince, who was 104 not out overnight, found support from Peter Siddle, who batted sensibly while he and the 37-year-old added exactly 100 for the seventh wicket. The Australian, who had been ill 24 hours earlier, looked the picture of health at the crease, punishing anything loose from the Northamptonshire attack.Prince was also reassuring, with his off-side drives a constant source of anguish for the home seam attack, one such stroke off Steven Crook bringing up his 150 off 268 balls. Crook then induced Prince to pop up to substitute David Murphy and Alex Wakely’s side could be forgiven for relief after enduring Prince’s career-best 257 not out in last year’s innings defeat at Old Trafford.Siddle returns home after Lancashire’s next Championship game against Gloucestershire but he delivered for his employers here, reaching his 50 off 95 balls. But before visions of only a second first-class century became reality, he was lbw to Kleinveldt for 89, the fifth wicket for the South African and his first five-wicket haul in Northamptonshire colours.Trailing by 51, Northamptonshire were hampered with Richard Levi not batting due to a dislocated finger. Replacement opener Rob Newton lasted just one delivery, caught at midwicket off Kyle Jarvis. Wakely’s indeterminate waft outside off stump added more pressure when he edged Siddle for a catch behind to leave Northants wobbling on 13 for 2.Despite a brief pause for bad light, Stephen Peters and Rob Keogh saw the home side to close for no further loss. But Siddle believes his side can claim victory, despite the pitch remaining true.”It’s not too bad out there, one end is a lot worse than the other to bowl at, so it’s going to be hard work,” he said. “We’ve just got to be patient. The wicket’s not offering up much so we can just bowl in good areas and see what happens.”I didn’t expect to be out batting so soon today, but Ashwell Prince is a class player. He showed that again today. It was good fun. It was a bit windy and cold so I didn’t want to bowl. So I thought if I batted longer, it would reduce my overs.Northants Head Coach David Ripley is hopeful his side can see the final day out for the draw. “That was an important little partnership there between Stephen and Rob,” he said. “It was a difficult session where Lancashire could come and give it everything and it was important that they got through those overs unscathed. We’ve still got to have a good first hour, hour and a half to hopefully get us the draw.”

Arsenal star Declan Rice was reportedly serenaded by Arsenal team-mates following last-ditch heroics against Luton Town.

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Rice netted 97th-minute winnerFired Arsenal to a 4-3 win Players celebrated dancing to Vanilla Ice’s famous track Ice Ice BabyWHAT HAPPENED?

The England international emerged as the hero by scoring in the seventh minute of stoppage time to fire Arsenal to a remarkable victory at Kenilworth Road to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League standings to five points over second-placed Liverpool. And it is no surprise that the raucous pitch-side celebrations continued in the away dressing room in the aftermath of the 4-3 win.

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According to the team danced to the tunes of Vanilla Ice’s famous track Ice Ice Baby which has been closely associated with Rice in the last couple of years. The former West Ham player hummed it on Sky TV programme A League Of Their Own and also boasts of having an advertising campaign with the lead slogan ‘Rice Rice Baby’.

DID YOU KNOW?

Rice has been in sensational form since he moved to the Emirates in the summer. It was his third goal in this Premier League campaign and the fifth time that the Gunners have snatched the three points with a winner after regulation time. Mikel Arteta's men have shown incredible character and seem determined to make amends by going all the way to lift the title in May after losing steam at the business end in the previous season.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

Arsenal are grappling with mounting injury concerns and Takehiro Tomiyasu is the latest casualty. He is expected to be sidelined for a minimum of four weeks due to a calf injury and will miss key fixtures against Aston Villa, Brighton, Liverpool, West Ham and Fulham. He joins the lengthy list of absentees which include Fabio Vieira, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Jurrien Timber.

David Warner will miss Australia’s one-day tour of Zimbabwe in August and September as he and fiancée Candice Falzon prepare for the birth of their first child

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2014David Warner will miss Australia’s one-day tour of Zimbabwe in August and September as he and fiancée Candice Falzon prepare for the birth of their first child.Warner is currently in India for the IPL and after a home Ashes series, a tour of South Africa and a World T20 in Bangladesh, he wrote in a column for his website that his “batteries are slowly draining”. As a result, Warner will enjoy the extra time at home when the team flies out for the tri-series with Zimbabwe and South Africa, although it will be a busy time as he prepares to become a father.”Candice and I have our baby coming in September, so it’s fantastic to be able to have that time off,” Warner wrote. “Since Darren Lehmann came on board as coach he’s told us all that family comes first, and that’s a big thing because we’re on the road for a long time. So that any time a major personal matter crops up – whether it’s a family member being sick, getting married or having a baby – the exemption is there for you.”With the World Cup coming up next year and the fact that it’s an ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe, I would normally immediately put my hand up for selection. That’s because playing for Australia is what I’ve always wanted to do since I was a youngster and you never want to miss an opportunity.But that’s what happens in life – you settle down, you get married and you have children.”Lehmann said Cricket Australia backed Warner’s decision to skip the tour. “We are 100% supportive of David choosing to stay home and await the birth of his first baby,” Lehmann said. “It is an important time in anyone’s life and I am a firm believer that family comes first.”The tri-series is Australia’s first international engagement after a rare winter without touring duties. Their series begins with a match against Zimbabwe in Harare on August 25 and ends in early September. Warner’s focus will be to be ready for Australia’s series against Pakistan in the UAE in October.

There is a danger of Associate nations losing interest in 50-over cricket with the reduction of the 2019 down to 10 teams according to Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2014There is a danger of Associate nations losing interest in 50-over cricket with the reduction of the 2019 World Cup to 10 teams according to Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of Cricket Ireland.The Associate and Affiliate nations have been battling for whatever morsels come their way under the restructuring of the ICC. While there is the promise of a performance-based pathway to Test cricket through the Intercontinental Cup and a play-off series with the lowest ranked Test nation – the ECB has put a Test against a potential qualifier into the new draft of the FTP – and a 16-team World T20 there is a fear that the middle format is being forgotten.The next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will include 14 teams, but the tournament in England four years after that will be cut to ten countries in an everyone-plays-everyone format replicating the 1992 event, which is considered to be the ideal formula.The exact details of qualification for the 2019 tournament have yet to be confirmed, but the likely option is that the top eight teams in the ICC ODI rankings will qualify automatically with the bottom two entering a tournament with the leading Associate and Affiliate nations for the final two spots.However, Deutrom is concerned that the reduction in places for lower-ranked teams to qualify could see the format wither.”We, as Associates, have begun to circulate our concerns more strongly in recent months. The pathway to Test cricket has been put in place, the World T20 is now a 16-team event but we strongly feel the 50-over game has been somewhat overlooked,” he told the Irish radio show.”I think the Test countries think, ‘Great you now have a pathway to be in the 50-over World Cup’, but actually if it’s only 10 teams [in the World Cup] there’s a real risk of Associate countries not being part of that.”There’s a risk that some lower-ranked Associates may wonder about playing 50-over with the only real pathway being into 20-over cricket. If all these countries start turning away from 50-over cricket you have to ask yourself that if there are fewer teams playing 50-over cricket what’s the point in having a pathway because it will only be open to a small number of countries. If the 50-over structure is not assessed there’s a real risk of it losing context.”Deutrom believes Ireland can rightly consider themselves the leading Associate nation but also said that his comments were speaking for the non-Full Member nations as a whole and warned that Ireland’s experience at the World T20 – when they were knocked out in stunning fashion by Netherlands – had reinforced that they can “take nothing for granted”.He was talking shortly after arriving back in Ireland from the ICC’s annual conference in Melbourne where the new structures and powerbases were rubber-stamped, but his pragmatic view of the Big Three is that it was the best way forward.”There’s this sense that from a pure best practice, governance perspective, does it look great? Probably not,” he said. “But in terms of what governance is meant to be, it’s probably meant to be a means to an end where a sport will be meritocratic, which from our point of view it is now becoming and there are better means for us to realise our objectives.”That key objective for Ireland remains Test cricket and Deutrom remained steadfast in his belief that Ireland will achieve their goal with the prize of that match against England.”Is it still important? Hell, yes. Why? Because it’s the best. If we are the No. 1 Associate what do we do next? When we launched that strategy it probably came out of nowhere. The ICC had not really considered expanding the number of Test nations. I hope it does not come across as arrogant, but I’m of no doubt that ICC would not have put that pathway in place had Ireland not stated its aim. We wanted to look at a proper vision.”