Countdown to India 2023: The Thrilling Race for Qualification in the ICC Cricket World Cup
By RubaiSport
Posted Wednesday, May 10, 2023
From Super League to Qualifiers: Tracking the journey of teams to secure a spot in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India. An in-depth analysis of the 8 already-qualified teams and a look ahead at the intense battle for the final two spots in the qualifiers.
Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world and the ICC Cricket World Cup is the ultimate event for cricket enthusiasts. With the next tournament scheduled to be held in India in 2023, cricket teams around the world are in a race to qualify for the event.
The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup will feature 10 teams with India automatically qualifying as the host country. The remaining spots will be filled through a rigorous qualification process, with teams competing in various tournaments and matches to secure their place in the tournament.
The qualification process for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup began in 2019 and will continue to through 2023. The process is divided into two main stages: the Super League and the Qualifier.
With the first of three ODIs between Ireland and Bangladesh ending in a No Result on 9 May 2023, even if Ireland go on to win the series, they cannot move into the top 8 in the Super League points table. Therefore we now know 8 teams who have already booked their ticket for India 2023 and we now also know the ten teams who must make it through the Qualifier to claim the final two spots.
With the first 8 teams confirmed, let's take a look at who they are, how they qualified and how the other teams can claim the remaining two spots.
Qualified teams
Hosts
India
2020-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League
The top 7 teams, other than 2023 World Cup hosts India, from the 2020-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League will qualify for the 2023 World Cup while the remaining teams will contest the World Cup Qualifier.
Afghanistan
Australia
Bangladesh
England
New Zealand
Pakistan
South Africa
2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
The top 2 teams from the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier will qualify for the 2023 World Cup
The 2020-23 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League is a three-year tournament involving the top 13 teams. During this time each team played a 3-match ODI series each against eight different opponents. The top 7 teams, not including 2023 World Cup hosts India, qualified for the 2023 World Cup. The remaining teams participated in the 2023 World Cup Qualifer.
Standings
As of 10 May 2023 with two scheduled matches (both Ireland vs Bangladesh) remaining. Win = 10pts, Loss = 0pts, NR = 5pts.
P
W
L
NR
Pts
New Zealand
24
16
5
3
175
England
24
15
8
1
155
India
21
13
6
2
139
Bangladesh
22
13
8
1
135
Pakistan
21
13
8
0
130
Australia
18
12
6
0
120
Afghanistan
15
11
3
1
115
South Africa
21
9
10
2
98
West Indies
24
9
15
0
88
Sri Lanka
24
7
14
3
81
Ireland
22
6
13
3
73
Zimbabwe
24
6
17
1
65
Netherlands
24
3
20
1
35
Numerous matches throughout this league were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic with many of those matches not being rescheduled due to their inconsequential impact on the World Cup qualification scenario for the teams involved. This includes a total of 9 matches for Afghanistan (three each against Australia, India and Pakistan). South Africa forfeited three matches against Australia.
18 June - 9 July 2023, Zimbabwe. The top two teams from the 2023 World Cup Qualifier will qualify for the 2023 World Cup. This tournament consits of the bottom 5 teams from the 2020-23 Super League, the top three teams from the 2019-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, and the top two teams from the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off. The format for this tournament has not been announced yet.
26 March - 5 April 2023, Namibia. The top two teams from the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off qualified for the 2023 World Cup Qualifier. This tournament consisted of the bottom 4 teams from the 2019-2023 League (Namibia, PNG, UAE and USA), the top two teams from the 2019-2022 ICC Challenge League (Canada and Jersey). The USA and UAE progressed to the 2023 World Cup Qualifier. All other team were eliminated from World Cup qualifcation.
Standings
P
W
L
NR
Pts
United States
5
4
1
0
8
United Arab Emirates
5
4
1
0
8
Namibia
5
3
2
0
6
Canada
5
3
2
0
6
Jersey
5
1
4
0
0
Papua New Guinea
5
0
5
0
0
2019-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2
The 2019-2023 ICC League 2 was a 7 team tournament where each team played a total of 36 matches. At the end of the league, the top three teams qualified for the 2023 World Cup Qualifier while the remaining teams participated in the 2023 World Cup Qualifier Play-off.
Standings
P
W
L
NR
Pts
Scotland
36
24
10
2
50
Oman
36
21
13
1
44
Nepal
36
19
15
1
40
Namibia
36
19
16
1
39
United States
36
16
17
1
35
United Arab Emirates
36
15
18
2
33
Papua New Guinea
36
5
30
0
11
2019-2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
The 2019-2022 ICC Challenge League was a 12 team tournament where the teams were split into two groups of six teams played a total of 15 matches each over the course of three years. At the end of the league, the top team from each group qualified for 2023 World Cup Qualifier Play-off. All other teams in the Challenge League were eliminated from World Cup qualification.
