I'm a big Liverpool football fan. However although it is extremely unlikely scenario, bear with me. Imagine I am a Liverpool fan but currently hoofing the ball about Mourneview Park for Glenavon. (Hoofing is a better descriptive word than stroking when you are talking about Irish League football).

Imagine then I get a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson about joining Manchester United. I have an opportunity to play in front of 60,000 people in one of the best leagues in the world and my wages would rise beyond my wildest dreams. As a Liverpool fan should I say ‘No'?

Believe me I would be telling the gum chewing, red faced, miserable old Scot that I've always been his biggest fan and can't wait to join. I know that's what Liverpool fan, John O' Shea did.

When Jock Stein turned up at Kenny Dalglish's Glasgow home to sign him for Celtic, Kenny was busy tearing down his Rangers posters in case he went upstairs to his bedroom.

So when I read on the forum that people are surprised that Eoin Morgan wants to play cricket for England it makes me wonder if people understand the financial situation. When you have an opportunity to play sport at the highest level and you make your living from playing sport then surely it is your duty as a sportsman to strive for the top and to ensure you receive the best possible financial rewards?

It means you want to play Test Cricket and Full Member ODIs. It means you want to play international slap and giggle (20/20). It means you want to get regular TV coverage in front of millions of viewers. It means huge commercial sponsorship opportunities as you jet around the world. It means fame and fortune.

The issue it does raise for me is about the ICC making Ireland a Full Member. If Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce could make the same money, achieve the same level of fame and play at the same top level of cricket would they still want to play for England? I ask you would a top class Australian cricketer want to play for England? Would Brian O'Driscoll or Paul O'Connell want to play rugby for England?

It appears to me that as far as cricket is concerned we still operate a type of colonial class system. If you are from the old school, in other words, outposts of Empire you are in the top group. You can imagine the views of the custard and jelly:

'England, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, South Africa, Rhodesia and the West Indies are all thoroughly decent chaps.'

'I'm sorry my dear old thing, we don't count the Celts, far too unruly. However if any of you turn out to be any good you can play for us. Why in the past we have even let that Scottish chap captain our team, Mike Denness. And we let that other Welsh guy, what's his name? Tony, captain us as well. You must remember him, helped invent the Duckworth thingy, yes that's his name, Tony Lewis.'

'What let Ireland join our elite club? What? You must be joking! They are not one of us. No, no, no. You see! We should never have let those Bangladeshi's join. I warned them at the time. It's a slippery slope I said. And look where it has got us. The Irish have achieved much more than they ever did and now they want some of the same too. It just doesn't make sense. It is simply not cricket.'

'We need to have a word with that Richard Done chap. Tell him to set Ireland impossible criteria to become a full member. Tell Mr. Done to make it vague with nothing that can be measured. On all accounts it should be wide ranging, covering standards at senior level, junior level, womens cricket, playing numbers, financials and spectator numbers etc. Nothing concrete so we can say that they fall down here or there.'

'In fact, not just Ireland, all of the associate bunch, Scotland, Holland, Kenya, UAE, Namibia, Bermuda, Uganda ( I mean, really), Canada (it's a shame they became too American) , Oman, Denmark and Afghanistan (Lord help us all). Make sure they all believe that they can reach the top. It will stop them suing us for discrimination or something. In fact give them a few bob to stop them complaining.'

'If we can make the full member criteria too complex to determine or too intangible then we can string it out until the best associate side falls away or runs out of money and then we can start it all again.'
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There you have it. Ireland will become a Test nation. One day, in the fullness of time. Of course I jest, but there is a serious point here. If the associate nations really are second class citizens are far as international cricket is concerned then some imbalances need to be redressed.

For starters let's look at this dual nationality. The four year waiting period on residency is there to protect the integrity of associate cricket. A national from a full member country is unable to become eligible to play for an associate country for four years to ensure Test or ODI players don't turn up at a Cricket World Cup for say, the UAE, having missed selection for say, the Pakistan team. We can all agree with that particular scenario.

But what about the other way round? An associate side having carefully nurtured the talents of one of their own players suddenly find their star cricketer plucked from their grasp by one of the full members. Nobody blames the player for wanting to advance his career but where does it leave the associate nation?

The ability to upset one of the big sides has significantly diminished. The potential future earnings of other contracted players in the associate side will be put into jeopardy because the side has been weakened. (Failure to qualify for a World Cup is an expensive mistake). And the full member having gained a new player pays absolutely nothing to the associate by way of compensation.

The player having been selected is now ineligible for the country of his birth for four years. The full member having had a look at him is now free to discard him if they so desire without a second thought. Frankly this is grossly unfair to player and country.

I do not want to stop any player reaching the top of their profession nor do I want the integrity of International cricket exploited. So here is my solution.

The four year residency period must remain for cricketers moving from full member countries or associates. However a cricketer who has played for an associate nation without having to undergo a residency period should be free to return to the associate with immediate effect if they are not required by the full member.

In other words, Ed Joyce would not have to serve 4 years to return to play for the country of his birth. A similar situation should apply to Eoin Morgan if he was picked and then discarded by England. Indeed Denmark I'm sure would warmly welcome Amjad Khan should the situation arise. However someone like Regan West who has qualified for Ireland through residency would have to re-qualify for Ireland if subsequently was selected and discarded by a full member.

In other words the difficulty of moving between associate and full member status will be determined by the country of birth. No matter where we sit on the debate surely we all agree that that's the way it should be.