Ireland 2015 World Cup hopes receive a boost

Ireland\'s hopes of competing at the 2015 World Cup were boosted on Wednesday when the world governing board\'s cricket committee recommended a qualifying competition for the 50-over tournament. Last month the International Cricket Council (ICC) said it would restrict the World Cup, which will be staged in Australia and New Zealand, to its 10 Test-playing member nations only. Fourteen teams, including Ireland who recorded a memorable win over England after beating Pakistan four years earlier, took part in this year\'s World Cup. \"The committee resolved to pass on a recommendation to the chief executives\' committee and to the board that they favoured a system of qualification for the World Cup and not making the World Cup restricted to the 10 full members,\" ICC general manager Dave Richardson told a news conference at Lord\'s. He said this proposal would give Ireland an opportunity to qualify. The ICC’s executive board will reconsider the composition of the 2015 World Cup during their annual conference in Hong Kong at the end of June. From : Gulf News