"Admittedly, off-field issues have not helped matters in the slightest. Zimbabwe and Kenya have been decimated by politics, while Bangladesh's joie de vivre has been eroded by their serial underachievement at Test level. As for the USA or the collection of ex-pats and mercenaries that pass for their national side their boardroom shenanigans have resulted in a still-born domestic competition and a missed opportunity to host the 2007 World Cup."...
"To be fair, the ICC is trying to bridge the gap, and innovations such as the three-day Intercontinental Cup may yet equip some of the better players with the requisite discipline to match their talents. But what they give with one hand the ICC take away with the other, and it was surely a gross error to ignore entirely the most compelling contests that have taken place in the British Isles this month."
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