Mm

... maybe the greatest upset in the history of the sport.

They sadly haven't got over the line, so it's this kind of this wonderful melancholic feeling, Greg, to be honest, of like huge pride at these guys showing how good they are against all odds, against all tilting of the scales that the bigger sides have in their favor.

But I'm, I'm also gutted that they didn't get those wins that live forever because a, a glorious defeat only lasts so long.

But I then also analyzed the stats last night.

I'm that much of a nerd.

[laughs] And th- they've actually scored at a better rate than they've ever scored, the associate sides at a World Cup.

Have you seen that over the last few years, that, you know, the amount of cricket you've watched, have you seen that gap closing?

Just do not come." But, um, Andrew, I was just thinking, can you sort of tell me and Broadie and, and the wider viewers, what are some of the challenges that the associate teams face? I'm, I'm sure people tune in and, and think, you know, watching a World Cup on TV that it's a level playing field for everyone, but what are the, the major challenges that the associates face and some of the great stories that I'm sure you'll be able to share of, you know, just how, how much of a battle it is to get to this stage and, and in terms of resource for these teams, um, to, you know, push India close, push England close who've got so much resource in cricket? What is it actually like for the associate sides?

I think it's such a great question and it's something that's very hard to get across, particularly, you know, for me, lucky enough to be part of the ICC commentary team here in a, in a five over stint during the T20 when the ball's flying everywhere.

Um, but the reality is, is that the scales are so uneven, it, it, it will actually shock you.

Uh, the levels of funding that the associates receive, the levels of fixture opportunities that they have, the, the standard of facilities they have.

Um, just the, the, the fact that so many of them have to work day jobs to be able to play cricket on the side.

There are some of the leading associates that are more fortunate, the likes of Nepal, uh, and Namibia have full-time contracts.

Uh, UAE players do as well, and, and they've got the ILT20 which gets the- their players extra revenues.

What was the situation of that face?