Rise of the Associates: Nepal fans, awesome Aaron Jones and farewell David Wiese

The expansion of the 2024 T20 World Cup to 20 teams was a boost to the global game that had been a long time coming.

Nine teams from beyond the Test elite have been admitted to the competition this time around. Even now it has been filtered down to the top eight sides, one of them is still in there fighting to be noticed.

Have the Associate nations improved the World Cup? There have been some thrashings, like West Indies’ 134-run demolition of Uganda, and England’s win over Oman in 3.1 overs.

But the players from beyond cricket’s elite have also provided some of the most compelling images from this competition.

Which sides have left the most lasting impressions? And which need to do better? We assess the hits and misses of each of them here.

How they got there: Qualified automatically as hosts

Result: Advanced to the Super Eights

Highlight: They have given the tournament its most vivid memories, with Aaron Jones’ blitz on opening night against Canada, and the Saurabh Netravalkar-inspired Super Over win against Pakistan.

Must improve: The same goes for all nine of the sides in this list in that their fielding went awry at crucial moments. Notably, Netravalkar shelled a catch off Suryakumar Yadav that might have brought about the biggest shock of all against India. Also, time-keeping. They were the first side to fall foul of the new stop-clock regulation.

How they got there: Winners of the Americas regional qualifier

Result: Fourth in Group A

Highlight: Picked up the lesser of the big scalps of the group when they – like USA against Pakistan – toppled a Test-playing nation as they beat Ireland. What was perhaps even more striking was Aaron Johnson’s hitting in the game against Pakistan. He hit four sixes when everyone else