Twenty20 now the magic number for cricket minnows

Voting in their own self-interest, the ten blazered apparatchiks on the board of the International Cricket Council opted for protectionism last week when they decided to expel the riffraff who dared seek entry into their private club.

Oblivious to anything but their bank balances, the cartel of Test-playing countries deserved the condemnation which was unleashed from Namibia to Norway as the sport's second-tier nations - Scotland included - cried foul at their exclusion from the 2015 World Cup.

There has been much talk of the disenfranchised rising in rebellion to unseat the powers-that-be. In the absence of a sporting version of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, their case for a review is likely to be ignored. And the ICC's stance could enforce a radical overhaul here that will not be universally embraced.

With the door to the 50-over showpiece shut in Scotland's face for eight years at least, the biennial World Twenty20 has assumed a central importance. For the Saltires - along with Ireland, the Netherlands and the fellow aspirants - the tournament will provide the only platform on which revenge against their persecutors can be extracted. With 16 places up for grabs, to miss out is to be nowhere.

"We'll have to look for increased Twenty20 opportunities," admits Scotland coach Pete Steindl. "We've already got 20-over games against the Dutch lined up this year. We'll probably look to get in a few more before the T20 World Cup qualifiers next March. If that competition's going to become our priority, then we've got no choice but to incorporate that into what we do from the ground up."

For all its superficial freneticism, the art of crash, bang, wallop possesses its own worthy nuances. Where it falls short, Steindl argues, is in the development of patience and adaptation, two prime assets in the four-day arena where the Scots currently compete via the Intercontinental Cup. Over 50 overs, those virtues can still be teased out. Twenty20 is, by design, a cut-down version.

"We have to develop cricketers for every format of the game but that's not going to be possible if all we do is play Twenty20," Steindl insists. "The thing is if you look across the 95 associate and affiliate countries, their whole structure has been geared to qualifying for a 50-over World Cup. A lot of countries will have to change their way of thinking."

Cricket Scotland will take stock before determining what changes might be introduced. The domestic Twenty20 league may receive greater prominence. Despite past rejection, there might also be a renewed overture to the ECB for a spot in their 20-over competition to gain further experience at the format. More international fixtures will inevitably be down-sized to suit.

"The ICC's effectively said that for the next ten years, the associates' priority is 20-over cricket," declared Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith."Until we find out how this decision affects the international structure, we're stuck in a limbo. The ICC's going to have to come out and decide what their plan for the Associates is now."

Reality dictates that those on the outside, needing the crumbs off the table to survive, will have to dance to the big ten's tune and push Twenty20 to the forefront. Having narrowed the gap between the have and have-nots in successive World Cups, the blueprint which hauled the Associates forward is, like the ICC itself, seemingly no longer fit for purpose.