CRICKET Ireland has responded cautiously to the announcement of sweeping reforms by the International Cricket Council after a board meeting in Singapore early yesterday. ICC trumpeted that it was �breaking the glass ceiling� which had barred the entry of the likes of Ireland and Afghanistan from playing test cricket.

It announced that �the winner of the next ICC Intercontinental Cup will be entitled to take part in a play-off against the bottom-ranked Full Member and, if successful, obtain Test status.� Ireland has won four of the last five Intercontinental Cups, the most recent in Dubai in December.

�The statement isn�t radically different to the original proposal,� Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom told the Sunday Independent. �It copperfastens the principle that the leading associate plays the lowest ranked full member. But what it doesn�t make clear is whether the Intercontinental Cup will include Zimbabwe and Bangladesh or not.

�The long-term benefits are that it could bring us closer to our long term goal of playing test cricket.�

The meeting, which formalised the power-grab by the �big 3� of India, Australia and England, also promised �enhanced support� for the leading associates �if revenue targets are achieved.�

�Our current expectations are of around $16-17m in the next funding period,� Deutrom explained. �But with Zimbabwe likely to receive $75-76m there�s a danger that a large competitive gap could open up. We trust the gap will not be as wide as that between teams ranked so closely together.�

The meeting also cancelled the proposed World Test Championship but replaced it with a biennial Champions Trophy which will be open to the top eight ranked ODI countries. Ireland has been as high as 9th in these rankings but currently lies 11th.