The International Cricket Council is understood to be considering widening the pathway to the controversial 10-team World Cup in 2019 in a move that will provide greater hope of qualification to teams such as Ireland and Afghanistan.
As it stands, the next edition of the 50-over showpiece will see the top eight of the 12-team ICC rankings – on 30 September 2017 – go through by right, with the final two spots decided by a qualifying tournament the following year. But following criticism of that structure as part of the World Cup’s overall reduction from 14 teams down to 10, the ICC is mulling over whether to cut the number of sides that book their places via the rankings to six, leaving four berths up for grabs.
By plunging the bottom six teams into the ICC World Cup qualifier in Bangladesh in 2018, the tweak would also add increased context to one-day internationals played over the next two years with the top sides more fearful of dropping into the bottom half of the table.
England are currently sixth in the rankings – they would be assured of their place as tournament hosts – and were the cut-off point to occur today, full members Bangladesh, West Indies, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, along with leading associate sides Ireland and Afghanistan, would vie with four additional teams for the final four places.
The news will be a further jolt for West Indies in particular, with the two-times World Cup winners having recently missed out on qualification for the 2017 Champions Trophy – also being played in England – after slipping to ninth in the rankings when the cut-off point for that competition came at the end of last month. Ireland, who along with Afghanistan were added to the official one-day rankings in January this year, were among the most vocal critics of the World Cup’s slimming down when it was confirmed in November last year after five wins against full member sides in their last three appearances in the finals.
In addition to this, the ICC found the reduction castigated by both Fica, the umbrella group for seven players’ unions, and the MCC World Cricket Committee, which described it as “a retrograde step that damages the potential for growth in cricket’s developing nations”.
The 10-team format will continue through to the 2023 World Cup at least under agreed television broadcasting rights but should this proposed change be adopted, their chances of reaching the finals would be at least increased from the previously agreed qualification system.
In addition to the mooted restructure, which is still under discussion, future qualifying tournaments after the 2018 round-robin in Bangladesh could be held in the United Arab Emirates, where England are currently playing Pakistan in their three-match Test series.
