In a staggering piece of stupidity, the International Cricket Council—the ruling body of the game of cricket—has determined that only the 10 full-member nations will compete in the 2015 one-day World Cup. This means that Ireland, which put up such a good show—thrashing England for instance—in the recently completed 2011 World Cup, will be excluded, and they can’t even qualify, since the ICC has banned the qualifying rounds. This is particularly hard luck on Ireland, who outrank a full-member nation such as Zimbabwe.

The decision is a kick in the teeth to one of the more entertaining and cricket-savvy teams, who have consistently shown themselves a cut above the associate nations that shadow the top 10 sides. Certainly, several of the games in this year’s World Cup were too one-sided, with associate members being taken to the cleaners by many sides. But Ireland’s side were an honorable and notable exception. That they’ve been left out is a crying shame. Boo to the ICC.