Papua New Guinea cricket coach Dipak Patel believes proposed changes to the international game will provide a major boost to developing countries.
Among the outcomes from last week's ICC Board meeting in Dubai, was an agreement in principle to constitutional and financial change and further progress on the structure of international cricket going forward.
Affiliate ICC Membership is set to be removed, with the likes of Samoa and the Cook Islands to join Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Vanuatu as Associate Members.
Meanwhile the regional T20 competition structure is to be developed as a pathway to qualifying for the ICC World T20.
PNG Barramundis coach Dipak Patel. Photo: Cricket PNG
PNG Barramundis coach Dipak Patel said it was a step in the right direction.
"It certainly gives our boys another opportunity to show their wares and it's all about taking every opportunity to show the rest of the world that we're capable of playing international cricket," he said.
"It's an area that the Associate countries have been pushing for so I'm sure that most of the countries will be pleased that this goes ahead.
"Playing more frequently is another area that we are trying to target, so we don't have these lapses of two, three months where we don't play any cricket."
A scheduling summit will now be held in March before a detailed proposal is put to the ICC Board in April.
