Afghanistan and Ireland were on Thursday confirmed as full members of the International Cricket Council.

Both will now be eligible to play Test cricket, following a membership committee recommendation that the respective full member applications from each met the newly approved membership criteria and should be put forward for approval.

‘I’d like to congratulate Afghanistan and Ireland on their full membership status, which is the result of their dedication to improving performance both off and on the field, resulting in the significant development and growth of cricket in their respective countries,’ said ICC chief executive David Richardson. ‘Both have clearly demonstrated they meet the new criteria and as such have made the progression to full membership.’

The ICC Board also unanimously agreed a new financial model, thereby reversing the 2014 resolutions and giving greater equality in the distribution of ICC income. As such, the revenue distribution for the cycle 2016-2023 will be as follows:

Based on current forecasted revenues and costs, the BCCI will receive $405-million across the eight-year cycle, the ECB $139-million, Zimbabwe Cricket $94-million and the seven existing full members $128-million each.

The associate members (together with Ireland and Afghanistan) will collectively receive funding of $240-million.

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