ICC's decision to limit ODI WC to 10-team a ' retrograde step', says MCC

The MCC World Cricket Committee, which includes former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly as one of its member, described the ICC's decision of limiting the ODI World Cup to a 10-team tournament as a 'retrograde step'.

The committee believes that this would be disadvantageous to the sport's chances of finding a place in the Olympics.

In its meeting at Lord's, which was the first gathering for new members Ganguly, Ricky Ponting and Ramiz Raja, and the last for outgoing members Rahul Dravid and Steve Bucknor, the committee recommended for a 12-team tournament preceded by a 'preliminary qualification round' for the 'lower ranked full member teams and the top associate nations.'

It also urged the ICC to reconsider its position and take a decision that it believes is in the best interests of the game.

The committee also recommended that every effort should be made to ensure that cricket features in the Olympic Games.