I have heard there are some countries in Cricket which are called as Associate countries (or members) So what is Associate member in Cricket? What criteria do they have to maintain?
1 Answer
From icc-cricket.com:
Associate Members:
Associate Members are the governing bodies for cricket of a country recognised by the ICC, or countries associated for cricket purposes, or a geographical area, which does not qualify as a Full Member, but where cricket is firmly established and organised (37 Members)
An associate member must maintain the following criteria along with other administration requirements of the national governing body:
- Have a minimum of 16 senior teams and 16 junior teams playing in a structured competition or competitions.
- Must have access to at least 8 cricket grounds, 4 of which must have a permanent pitch
The main reason for why they do not qualify as a Full Member is that they are non-Test-playing nations. Associates are eligible to play in the ICC World Cricket League. Top 6 associate members of league are awarded ODI and T20I status and are allowed to play against the Full Members.
Here is the list of ICC Member Countries 2013/2014 PDF
Footnotes:
Source: 1. Wikipedia 2. ICC Associate Membership Criteria & Guidelines (PDF)