The International Cricket Council (ICC) have launched a 50-over World Cup Super League to determine qualification for the 2023 World Cup, that is set to take place in India.
The tournament is set to kickstart with a series between England and Ireland, scheduled in Southampton only July 30. The rest of the schedule is yet to be announced. India automatically qualify for the World Cup because they are hosting the tournament.
The Super League will determine the other seven teams that will qualify for the World Cup, ICC said in a press statement.
The league will feature 13 teams, the 12 ICC Full Members and the Netherlands, who qualified by winning the World Cricket Super League in 2015-17. The Super League will see each side play four home and four away three-match series.
The five sides which fail to qualify directly will play along with five Associate sides in the Qualifier 2023, with two teams making it to the 10-team World Cup.
Each team gets 10 points for a win, five for a tie/no result/abandonment and none for a loss. Teams will be ranked according to total points earned across the eight series. There are criteria in place to separate two or more teams on equal points.
A knock-out phase will not be needed as the league standings will determine the qualification for the World Cup.
“The league will bring relevance and context to ODI cricket over the next three years, as qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is at stake,” ICC’s GM Operation Geoff Allardice said. “The decision last week to move the World Cup back to late 2023 gives us more time to schedule any games lost due to COVID-19 and preserve the integrity of the qualification process, meaning it will be decided on the field of play, which is important.”
“The start of the Super League was delayed due to COVID-19. As part of our contingency planning, we continue to work with Members to find windows where the rescheduled qualifying series can be safely and practically rescheduled,” the ICC stated.
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