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?
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)
