Part-time heroes are a must in the World Cup

The World Cup will lose far more than it gains from the ICC's planned culling of Associate nations in 2015, writes Andy Bull in the Guardian, arguing that the fascinating stories of men like Rizwan Cheema, Balaji Rao, Steve Tikolo and Ashish Bagai enrich the competition.

And for all the crowing about the longevity of the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar, what about the indestructible Steve Tikolo? He was persuaded to come out of retirement at the age of 40 to play in this, his fifth World Cup. Tikolo looked "too old for this shit" way back in 2007. His is the most creaky-kneed comeback since Danny Glover did Lethal Weapon 4.