Super Over: Six key stories for 2021

6.       New Members

The ICC might be about to grow in 2021. Currently, the ICC has 104 members: twelve Full Members and 92 Associates. Several prospective members have submitted membership applications to the ICC, with the hopes of admission later in the year.

Among these is Switzerland. An ICC Affiliate member between 1985 and 2012, Switzerland was expelled from the ICC after the Swiss Cricket Association broke into two rival groups. The governing body reformed as Cricket Switzerland two years later. Despite losing their membership, cricket has still been able to grow in Switzerland, including hosting the dramatic Cricket on Ice event. In October 2020 Cricket Switzerland announced it was applying to re-join the ICC. Cricket Switzerland expect that the ICC will consider the application at the AGM this year.

Two other prospective members lie in Asia. To the north of Full member Afghanistan is Tajikistan. The Tajikistan Cricket Federation (TCF) has been an Associate Member of the Asian Cricket Council since 2012. Since then, the TCF has seen a steady increase in participation, and now targets ICC membership. Despite the flagship BetBarter T10 League failing to get going, the TCF have high hopes of emulating their southern neighbours ­­and achieving a rapid rise up the cricketing ladder. Emerging Cricket understands the TCF made a membership application to the ICC in 2019 and are hopeful of admission in 2021.

A third prospective member is Mongolia. Cricket has a short history on the Mongolian Steppe, with the Mongolian Cricket Association (MCA) founded only in 2007. Despite the short history, the MCA have made steady progress in developing the game. With assistance from the Australian government, the MCA was able to build their first permanent cricket ground in 2017 and recently launched a national club T20 league.  In 2019, the MCA submitted a membership application to the ICC, and expect the application to be considered this year.

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