ICC introduces 50-over league-based qualification structure for 2023 World Cup
What's the story
The ICC board members have, unanimously, approved a new 50-over league based qualification structure for the 2023 World Cup. After several meetings in Singapore, the board approved this new structure, which will start from 2019 and witness an increased number of matches. The process will go on for more than two years and is slated to start right after the 2019 World Cup.
Information
32 ICC members will compete in 3 different leagues
The new system will see 32 members of the ICC (12 full and 20 associate) competing separately in three different leagues. This will be based on their ranking. It starts from July 2019. It is set to include exactly 372 matches until May 2022.
CWC League
How will the Cricket World Cup League pan out?
12 full member teams alongside the Netherlands will play in Cricket World Cup League. The League will start in May 2020, with each team playing 24 matches. Besides the hosts, seven other teams from the CWC league will qualify directly for World Cup in 2023. Notably, the 2023 event is being hosted by India. The bottom five teams will head to Qualifiers.
Pattern
Pattern of second and third league explained
The second league is set to consist of seven associate members. Teams ranked between 14 to 20 as per the structure will play 36 matches. The top three will qualify for the Qualifiers 2022 and the bottom four will be heading to the Qualifiers Play-offs. The third league will consist of 12 associate members with each of the side playing 15 matches.
Twitter Post
Road to India 2023
A new qualification pathway for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup has been approved. Here's how it works 👇 pic.twitter.com/HuGfyqB9O8
— ICC (@ICC) October 20, 2018
ICC
ICC paves a way to engage Member Nations
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said that the World Cricket League has played a crucial role in improving the standards of Associate Member cricket. He opined that the feedback received post consultation with Members, clearly led to the path of scheduling more matches. "The new structure significantly increases the number of matches and competitive playing opportunities," said Richardson.