GEOFFREY BOYCOTT believes Ireland's request to join the top table of international cricket will fall on deaf ears - because 'turkeys don't vote for Christmas'.

Cricket Ireland made a tentative application for full membership of the International Cricket Council last week but Boycott, the former England batsman, does not believe the top 10 nations will consider reducing their share of the profits.

Even minnows Zimbabwe and Bangladesh receive an estimated E7million each year, regardless of how they perform. Given that the Irish want to step up without initially committing to Test cricket, they probably would accept a lesser share, but Boycott believes the top 10 is currently a closed shop. And nor he is he convinced that millions of euro would make the national team any more competitive than Bangladesh.

'I don't think will cut it at the top level, and this is a problem for the ICC,' said the opening batsman who was an icon of English cricket in the 1970s.

'Two things: if you get full member status at the moment you automatically go on to play Test matches and [year-round] one-day internationals, but also you get a full share of the monetary spoils.

'All the money that comes in from the World Cups and Champions Trophies and Twenty20s, the ten teams get an equal share of money that can go to their country to develop the game.

'Now, the full member countries there already have to give their official blessing to this. 'I'm not sure they're going to vote for Ireland to come in because it would mean dividing the spoils between 11 and they're all going to get less money. And usually turkeys don't vote for Christmas very easily. I don't they're going to get in.'

And Boycott is not convinced Irish cricket has enough potential to justify the creation of a full-time programme. 'If they think it's a good idea to let someone like Ireland in to get a share of the money, which means they can develop the game in their country more, that's a good idea,' he said.

'But I don't feel they should get automatic Test status or one-day international status, because it hasn't helped develop Bangladesh, has it?

'They are no better than when they started.'