And so another West Indian great has decided to have a bit of a whinge. Michael Holding has claimed that the ‘World Cup will be devalued by the number of non-Test playing nations taking part’.             

The timing of this is poor to say the least plus it is a somewhat blinkered view which does a grave disservice to the ‘minnows’ who have fought hard to get to the elite ODI cricketing tournament.

Holding does make a good point that there are maybe too many teams but I thought the cricketing community was keen to share the beloved game with the rest of the world, and encourage growth. Not Michael Holding it would seem.

Holding claims ‘it is counter-productive…(to have) a team playing in the World Cup and getting absolutely hammered’. What Mr Holding has failed to recognise though is that it is not just the immediate affect of playing but its further reaching consequences.

We are of course talking about money. Something anyone associated with West Indies cricket should know the benefits of.    

The affect of Stanford’s millions is already being felt, and surely an extended World Cup can only be of benefit to the local economies of the West Indies.

These minnows can also provide the odd surprise or two. Ask Kenya last time around. Players learn from playing against the best.

Holding also claims that he can ’see nothing wrong with giving the smaller teams the odd tour and a few games against the bigger teams from time to time’. So what’s the difference between them taking a thrashing in the World Cup or at any other time. The Champions Trophy is not taken with any real seriousness by the test playing nations, and how are they expected to develop as players or their national infrastructure without greater exposure.             

I agree there are maybe a few too many teams, but it is after all a ‘World’ cup so let’s involve as much of the World as possible. Everyone loves an underdog. Apart from Michael Holding apparently.