On September 18, in what was initially written off as a mismatch, minnows Hong Kong came painstakingly close to pulling off the biggest upset of their cricketing history. Pitted against Test giants and World No 2 India, Hong Kong’s openers Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath put up a 174-run partnership as they chased a target of 286 with not just grit but also plenty of panache. 

The Indian camp, understandably, was in disbelief. Everything skipper Rohit Sharma threw at Khan and Rath fell flat, as the pair stayed glued to the crease for 34 overs, all the while dispatching boundaries to all corners of the outfield. For two thirds of the chase, a famous victory seemed imminent, not just a probability.  In the end, Hong Kong’s inexperience showed as they fell just 26 runs short of their target, but their heroics forced pundits and administrators to recognise that the once gaping gulf between Test-playing nations and the Associates is quickly being bridged. It also put a spotlight on the shortcomings of cricket’s long-standing pyramidal hierarchy in what has become a drastically level playing field.

For it was with no little irony that Hong Kong headed into the Asia Cup having lost their One Day International (ODI) status at the World Cup qualifiers held in Zimbabwe in March. Having secured a route to the Asia Cup by defeating ODI nationals Nepal and UAE earlier this year, Hong Kong was seeking not just to avenge their fall from cricket’s elite bracket but to also represent the whole of Associate nations at one of the game’s biggest platforms.

And represent they did. After being bundled out for a partly 116 in their opening match against bigwigs Pakistan, Hong Kong came home to roost in their second game against India. In turn, the thrilling chase, among other things, was a reminder to the International Cricket Council (ICC) of the hastiness of its decision to limit the 50-over World Cup to just 10 nations (from 14) in a bid to make it more competitive (and less cumbersome for broadcasters). 

When the ICC unveiled its plan for a 10-team World Cup in 2015, non-Test playing nations were up in arms. Given the recent track record Associate countries hold against the game’s elite, they argued, it was high time for an expansion of the World Cup not a trimming.

There used to be a time when non-Test nations were considered to be just making up the numbers at the elite level. Occasionally you’d see a major upset—think Bangladesh beating Pakistan and England or Kenya pulling off a 53-run upset over Sri Lanka in 2003—but these were little more than flashes in the pan, a one-off victory before inevitable drubbings at the hands of more accomplished teams.

Today that playing field is a whole lot more even. In the last two World Cups, non-Test side Ireland have beaten both England and the West Indies, while teams such as Afghanistan and Zimbabwe have also held their own.

At the top rung of Associate cricket too—be it Division 1 or Division 2—the competition is quickly becoming very intense and crowded. This was best shown when the Emiratis denied Zimbabwe a spot in the 2019 World Cup in what was a painful night in Harare in March this year.

After the completion of the Qualifiers, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza took home the player-of-the-tournament but the accolade was hardly a consolation.

“When I started playing cricket, I thought it was to unite countries, players of different background coming together to play this beautiful sport,” a heartbroken Raza said after the tournament. “Unfortunately, you’ll see that’s not going to happen in next year’s World Cup. It’s certainly quite a tough pill to swallow.”

“This trophy (player-of-the-tournament) will also serve as a reminder of the hard work that Peter Borren and his Dutch players, Kyle Coetzer and his Scottish players, Rohan Mustafa and his UAE players, and all the other countries that came and couldn’t make it to the World Cup. Congratulations to Nepal for their ODI status for the first time but this trophy will also serve as a painful reminder that two of our brother countries lost their ODI status as well.”

Raza’s moving speech that resonated with all Associates nations has put ICC’s global development strategy under heavy scrutiny. ICC’s recent decision to give Twenty20 matches between all countries an international status from 2019 is commendable. So is the decision to keep the 2020 ICC World Twenty20 as a 16-team affair. But the growing popularity of Twenty20 leagues across the world, alongside the packed Test or ODI schedules, has meant that cricket has become a game of interest outside of the traditional Test-playing nations. More importantly, the talent pool too is no longer just the monopoly of the elite.

Take for instance, 14-year-old Prashant Neupane who is coming through the ranks of Nepal’s youth set up and moved to Kathmandu from a remote village in western Nepal hoping to emulate his National heroes. With Nepal steady progressing up the cricketing ladder, Neupane dreams of representing his country at the highest level.

As an aspiring athlete from a minnow country, Neupane cites the Egyptian footballer Mohammad Salah’s success at the game’s grandest stage as his inspiration. But unlike football, cricket’s biggest stage—the ICC World Cup—remains a tight, closed-door affair. Why? Certainly not for trying by teams, like Hong Kong, Zimbabwe and Nepal, who have long been relegated to only looking in from the outside.