Cricket World Cup qualification

Cricket World Cup qualification is the process a national cricket team goes through to qualify for the Cricket World Cup. The Cricket World Cup is a global event, and qualification is used to reduce the large field of participants from about 100 to 16. The current process is known as the World Cricket League. The qualification process can start as early as almost 6 years before the World Cup.

Before each World Cup, ICC decides beforehand the number of spots that the associate and affiliate members are fighting for. The Test-playing nations (and sometimes in the past ODI-playing nations at the time) get an automatic berth in the World Cup. While the other teams have to qualify through a series tournaments to qualify for the World Cup Qualifier.^[1]

Qualifying tournaments for the World Cup Qualifier are held within the five ICC regional bodies (Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia-Pacific, Europe), and are organized by their respective councils. The ICC Trophy, the first qualifying tournament, was held for the second world cup.

History

Main article: ICC Trophy

Since the first World Cup in 1975, qualifying tournaments have been held, the first being the ICC Trophy; later the process expanding with qualifying tournaments for the qualifier. The qualifying tournaments were contested as part of the ICC Trophy.^[2] The number of teams getting selected through the ICC Trophy changes from event to event. From 2007, the ICC World Cricket League replaced the past processes; from 2009, the ICC trophy will be known as the ICC World Cup Qualifier.^[3]

ICC Trophy Summary

Year	Host nation	Final venue	Scores	Result
1979	England	Worcester	Sri Lanka 324 for 8 (60 overs)  Canada 264 for 5 (60 overs)	Sri Lanka won by 60 runs
1982	England	Leicester	Bermuda 231 for 8 (60 overs)  Zimbabwe 232 for 5 (54.3 overs)	Zimbabwe won by five wickets
1986	England	Lord's, London	Zimbabwe 243 for 9 (60 overs)  Netherlands 218 all out (58.4 overs)	Zimbabwe won by 25 runs
1990	Netherlands	The Hague	Netherlands 197 for 9 (60 overs)  Zimbabwe 198 for 4 (54.2 overs)	Zimbabwe won by six wickets
1994	Kenya	Nairobi	Kenya 281 for 6 (50 overs)  United Arab Emirates 282 for 8 (49.1 overs)	UAE won by two wickets
1997	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Kenya 241 for 7 (50 overs)  Bangladesh 166 for 8 (25 overs)	Bangladesh won by two wickets (Duckworth-Lewis method)
2001	Canada	Toronto	Namibia 195 for 9 (50 overs)  Netherlands 196 for 8 (50 overs)	Netherlands won by two wickets
2005	Ireland	Clontarf	Scotland 324 for 8 (50 overs)  Ireland 277 for 9 (50 overs)	Scotland won by 47 runs
2009	South Africa	SuperSport Park, Centurion	Canada 185 all out (48 overs)  Ireland 188 for 1 (42.3 overs)	Ireland won by 9 wickets

World Cricket League

Main article: World Cricket League

The World Cricket League is a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status, administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate and Affiliate members of the ICC are eligible to compete in the league system, which has promotion and relegation between each division. The series will complete its first cycle in 2007, with teams allotted into divisions based on their performance in the qualification tournaments for the 2007 World Cup, the six initial teams in Division One being the teams that qualified for the 2007 World Cup. The next cycle to prepare for the 2011 Cricket World Cup will start in 2008 with two extra divisions being added to the Global World Cricket League.

All 87 Associate and Affiliate members of the ICC are able to qualify for the World Cup.The ICC World Cricket League have two-five steps (depending on the certain team) that the 87 Associate and Affiliate members have to go through to be selected for the World Cup.

Non-Test playing teams from the last World Cup automatically qualifies for the Qualifier. While, the next best ranked teams are seeded in division two and Division Three. From division three, two teams are promoted to division two. From that, four teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier. While the others are still in contention.

The first stage of qualification, for the other teams, is regional tournaments; from the final regional events, eight teams are promoted to division five. The top two teams from division five then moves up to Division Four. From which, the top two teams are promoted to division three (second edition). From division three (second edition), the top two teams goes to the World Cup Qualifier. The top six teams from the qualifier are then awarded ODI status and are in the World Cup.^[3]

Process summary in chronological order

Regional tournaments: Top teams from each regional tournaments will be promoted to a division depending on the teams ranking according to the ICC and each division's empty spots.

Division One: 6 Teams - All qualify for the World Cup Qualifier.

Division Three: 8 Teams - Top 2 promoted to Division Two.

Division Two: 6 Teams - Top 4 qualify for the World Cup Qualifier.

Division Five: 8 Teams - Top 2 promoted to Division Four.

Division Four: 5 Teams - Top 2 promoted to Division Three.

Division Three(second edition): 6 Teams - Top 2 qualify for the World Cup Qualifier.

World Cup Qualifier: 12 Teams - Top 6 are awarded ODI status and Top 4 qualify for the World Cup.

See also

• 2007 Cricket World Cup qualification
• 2011 Cricket World Cup (qualification)
• World Cricket League

References

1. ^ "What the next four years hold", Beyond the Test World, April 18, 2009, http://blogs.cricinfo.com/btw/archives/2009/04/what_the_next_f.php 
2. ^ Cricinfo - 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland
3. ^ ^{a b} World Cricket League World Cricket League Overview