Richie Berrington sounded numb yesterday as he digested the implications of the ICC’s decision to cut the number of teams at the next World Cup to 10, without even offering the Associate sides an opportunity to qualify for the sport’s showpiece tournament.

The Greenock-based all-rounder, who produced a string of fine performances for his country last season, and is on the radar of several English counties, has only just turned 24. But unless the ICC is persuaded to implement a volte-face on their controversial policy, Berrington will be at least 32 before he has the chance to play in a World Cup.

“It’s hard to believe, quite honestly. And it’s wrong. Obviously, I’m very disappointed by the news, but worse than that, it just seems baffling not to allow the developing countries any means of qualifying for the biggest competition there is in cricket,” said Berrington, who dismissed the suggestion that the likes of Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands should be satisfied with the incentive of participating in World T20 events.

“I wouldn’t say that was any consolation, because the World Cup is the one real opportunity to test yourselves against the biggest teams and I definitely understand why the Irish are so angry after the way that they performed in this year’s tournament.

“After all, it wasn’t as if all the Associates let themselves down this time. On the contrary, there were signs of improvement. Ireland beat England and came close against Bangladesh, while the Dutch scored 290-odd against England, and Canada bowled Pakistan out [for 184] and only lost by 30-odd runs.

"I know that the ICC is concerned about the length of the World Cup, but I suppose that I took it for granted that if they reduced the number of teams to 10 [in 2015], that you would have eight qualifying automatically and the bottom two would have to play against the Associate sides in a qualifying tournament. That would be much fairer for everybody, and particularly when you think that Ireland are actually ranked [10th] above the Zimbabweans in the ratings at the moment.”

In these circumstances, where the Ireland skipper, William Porterfield, has described the ICC’s ruling as “a joke” and “an absolute disgrace”, it would be easy for the likes of Berrington to be disheartened by what the future holds, especially given the scant possibility of the decision being overturned.

But instead, he is determined to help the Scots claw their way back up the global ladder, insisting that the best means of demonstrating that the Associates merit inclusion in future World Cups in recording victories against as many opponents as possible. This summer, both they and Ireland meet Sri Lanka, the losing World Cup finalists, in Edinburgh and one suspects that all these contests will now have a bit of extra edge.

“You have to stay positive and it is important that we get Scotlandback on track and climb up the rankings again, because we have slipped back in the last couple of years,” said Berrington, whose rise to prominence has been one of the more positive occurrences. “We have to win more games against the counties and prove that we are on the right course. And I am very much committed to being a part of that process.”

None the less, Berrington’s parting shot – “It’s a strange situation and I just didn’t see this coming” - typified the mixture of frustration and anger at the fashion in which the ICC has dashed the dreams of so many talented cricketers. This affair isn’t finished yet, but for men such as Berrington, their World Cup aspirations are in limbo.