Ireland are set to be given the clearest indication yet on whether they will play in the next World Cup when the International Cricket Council (ICC) holds its annual conference next week in Hong Kong.
The ICC is set to review the decision to exclude Ireland and their fellow associate members from the 2015 tournament when the five-day conference begins on Sunday.
The ICC's April decision to restrict the World Cup to the 10 full-member nations, with no qualification process, was met with widespread condemnation, especially after Ireland's impressive performances at this year's tournament.
The criticism led to Sharad Pawar, the ICC president, to call for a review of the decision.
Last month, the ICC's Cricket Committee unanimously recommended that a qualification system be introduced.
With Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, also backing calls for qualification, pressure will be exerted on the Chief Executives' Committee to recommend a reversal of their decision to exclude the associates.
"The board had decided earlier that 2015 will be a 10-team member World Cup but that did not go down well and the president decided to reconsider the topic," Lorgat said.
"I do support that there should be some sort of qualification process for all members to get to the World Cup. I do favour a 10-team World Cup with a qualification process."
The use of the Decision Review System (DRS) is also set to be a key discussion point in Hong Kong.
The Cricket Committee unanimously recommended its use in all Tests. However, India have been strongly against the system, which they have blocked from use in their upcoming series in England.
"The ICC Cricket Committee is in favour of employing DRS in all formats of the game," Lorgat said.