2027 Cricket World Cup qualification

2027 Cricket World Cup qualification
Dates	15 February 2024 – 2027
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	One Day International; List A
Participants	36
Matches	289
	← 2023 2031 →

The 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification is an ongoing process by which teams will qualify for the 2027 Cricket World Cup.^[1] A series of competitions will determine which teams will take part in the tournament.^[2]^[3]

Format

The eight top-ranked teams in the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings, along with the 2027 hosts will automatically qualify for the tournament.^[4] The CWC Challenge League Play-off served as a relegation tournament allowing new teams from the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings to enter the qualification cycle.^[5] 13th to 28th placed teams from the previous cycle along with the 4 teams advanced from the Challenge League Play-off entered the 20-team qualification cycle to compete for the remaining 4 spots in the World Cup.^[2]^[3]

The next two teams in the ODI rankings (excluding the teams already qualified) will directly qualify for the CWC Qualifier. The remaining 20 sides are divided into two leagues, the CWC League 2 (8 teams) and the CWC Challenge League (12 teams).^[6] Based on the results of the leagues, teams will either directly qualify for the CWC Qualifier, be eliminated from the World Cup qualification, or advance to the CWC Qualifier Play-off through which they could qualify for the CWC Qualifier. The Qualifier Play-off will also determine promotion and relegation between the two leagues.^[7]

Participating teams

In November 2021, the ICC announced that there would not be a second edition of the Super League.^[8] Teams were allocated to the two leagues based on the results from the previous World Cup qualification cycle.^[2]^[3]

List of teams participating in the 2027 CWC qualification
Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Final standings in previous cycle	Number of teams	Teams	Placement in 2027 cycle
Hosts	16 November 2021	ICC Full Members	2	South Africa	2027 Cricket World Cup
Hosts	16 November 2021	ICC Full Members	2	Zimbabwe
ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings	31 March 2027^[9]	Top 8 teams, excluding the hosts	8	TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
		Next 2 teams, excluding the hosts	2	TBD	2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
		Next 2 teams, excluding the hosts	2	TBD	2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
2019–2023 World Cup qualification cycle	30 July 2020 – 14 May 2023	13th (Super League)	1	Netherlands	2024–2026 League 2^[10]
	14 August 2019 – 16 March 2023	14th–16th (Top 3 of League 2)	3	Nepal
				Oman
				Scotland
	26 March – 5 April 2023	17th–20th (Top 4 of Qualifier Play-off)	2	Canada
				Namibia
				United Arab Emirates
				United States
		21st–22nd (Bottom 2 of Qualifier Play-off)	2	Jersey	2024–2026 Challenge League^[10] (Top 4 teams from the Challenge Play-off also qualified)
		21st–22nd (Bottom 2 of Qualifier Play-off)	2	Papua New Guinea
	16 September 2019 – 13 December 2022	23rd–28th (Top 6 of Challenge League)	6	Denmark
				Hong Kong
				Kenya
				Qatar
				Singapore
				Uganda
		29th–32nd (Bottom 4 of Challenge League)	4	Bermuda	2024 Challenge League Play-off^[5]
				Italy
				Malaysia
				Vanuatu
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings	30 September 2023	Top 4 teams, didn't participate in the previous cycle	4	Bahrain
				Kuwait
				Saudi Arabia
				Tanzania
Total			36

Qualified teams

South Africa and Zimbabwe as full-member co-hosts have automatically qualified for the final stages of the tournament.^[11]

List of teams qualified for the 2027 CWC
Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Venues	Number of teams	Teams	Total times qualified	Last time qualified	Previous best performance
Full Member Hosts	16 November 2021	—	2	South Africa	10	2023	Semi-Finals (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015, 2023)
Full Member Hosts	16 November 2021	—	2	Zimbabwe	10	2015	Super 6 (1999, 2003)
ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings (Top 8 teams, excluding the hosts)	31 March 2027	—	8	TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier	2027	TBA	4	TBD
				TBD
				TBD
				TBD
Total			14

Eliminated teams

List of teams eliminated from the 2027 CWC qualification
Tournament	Date	Venue	Eliminations	Teams
Challenge Play-off	22 February – 3 March 2024	Malaysia	4	Bermuda
				Malaysia
				Saudi Arabia
				Vanuatu
Challenge League	15 February 2024 – December 2027	Various	8	TBD
Qualifier Play-off	2027	TBA	4	TBD
Qualifier	2027	TBA	6	TBD
Total			22

Supplementary tournament

2024 CWC Challenge Play-off

Tournament outcome
Outcome	Berths	Teams
Advanced to the Challenge League	4	Bahrain
		Italy
		Kuwait
		Tanzania
Eliminated from the CWC Qualification	4	Bermuda
		Malaysia
		Saudi Arabia
		Vanuatu
Total	8

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Kuwait	3	2	1	4	0.292	Advanced to the Super 6
2	Italy	3	2	1	4	0.574
3	Bermuda	3	1	2	2	−1.108
4	Saudi Arabia	3	1	2	2	0.298	Eliminated

Source: ESPNcricinfo^[12]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate^[13]

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Tanzania	3	2	1	4	0.633	Advanced to the Super 6
2	Bahrain	3	2	1	4	0.713
3	Vanuatu	3	1	2	2	−0.791
4	Malaysia	3	1	2	2	−0.742	Eliminated

Source: ESPNcricinfo^[12]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate^[13]

Super 6 stage

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Kuwait	5	5	0	10	2.215	Qualified for the 2024–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
2	Italy	5	3	2	6	1.163
3	Bahrain	5	3	2	6	0.565
4	Tanzania	5	3	2	6	−0.356
5	Vanuatu	5	1	4	2	−1.999	Eliminated
6	Bermuda	5	0	5	0	−1.590	Eliminated

Source: ESPNcricinfo^[12]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate^[13]

Qualifying leagues

2024–2026 CWC League 2

League outcome
Outcome	Berths	Teams
Advanced to the Qualifier	4	TBD
		TBD
		TBD
		TBD
Advanced to the Qualifier Play-off	4	TBD
		TBD
		TBD
		TBD
Total	8

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	United States	12	8	4	0	16	0.428	Advance to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
2	Canada	12	8	4	0	16	0.292
3	Scotland	11	6	3	2	14	1.247
4	Netherlands	10	6	4	0	12	0.028
5	Oman	11	5	4	2	12	−0.052	Advance to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off
6	Namibia	12	5	7	0	10	−0.180
7	Nepal	12	2	8	2	6	−0.271
8	United Arab Emirates	10	2	8	0	4	−1.460

Updated to match(es) played on 7 November 2024. Source: ESPNcricinfo^[14]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams

2024–2026 CWC Challenge League

League outcome
Outcome	Berths	Teams
Advanced to the Qualifier Play-off	4	TBD
		TBD
		TBD
		TBD
Eliminated from the CWC Qualification	8	TBD
		TBD
		TBD
		TBD
		TBD
		TBD
		TBD
		TBD
Total	12

League A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	Pts	NRR
1	Jersey	5	4	1	8	1.776
2	Papua New Guinea	5	4	1	8	1.342
3	Kuwait	5	3	2	6	−0.777
4	Kenya	5	2	3	4	0.087
5	Denmark	5	2	3	4	−0.985
6	Qatar	5	0	5	0	−1.630

Updated to match(es) played on 5 October 2024. Source: ESPNcricinfo^[15]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams

League B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	Pts	NRR
1	Uganda	1	1	0	2	3.182
2	Italy	1	1	0	2	2.162
3	Hong Kong	1	1	0	2	0.135
4	Bahrain	1	0	1	0	−0.135
5	Tanzania	1	0	1	0	−2.162
6	Singapore	1	0	1	0	−3.182

Updated to match(es) played on 7 November 2024. Source: ESPNcricinfo^[16]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams

Qualifying tournaments

2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off

Eight teams will take part in the qualifier play-off: the bottom four teams from the League 2 along with the top two teams each in Groups A and B of the Challenge League. The top four teams from this tournament progress to the Qualifier.

Teams qualified
Means of qualification	Date	Venue	Berths
League 2	2024–2026	Various	4
Challenge League	2024–2026	Various	4
Total			8

League outcome
Outcome	Berths	Teams
Advanced to Qualifier	4
Eliminated from CWC Qualification	4
Total	8

2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier

The Qualifier will feature ten teams in total: the 11th and 12th ranked teams; the top four teams from the League 2, and the top four teams from the qualifier play-off. The top four teams from this tournament will qualify for the World Cup.

Qualified teams
Means of qualification	Date	Venue	Berths
ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings	—	Various	2
League 2	2024–2026	Various	4
Qualifier Play-off	2027		4
Total			10

League outcome
Outcome	Berths	Teams
Advanced to CWC	4
Eliminated from CWC Qualification	6
Total	10

References

^ "Cricket World Cup to revert to 14 teams from 2027". The Hindu. 2021-06-01. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Details of 2027 World Cup Qualification pathway revealed". Cricbuzz. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ "ICC announces qualification pathway for 2027 World Cup | News". www.cricket.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
^ ^a ^b icc (2024-02-20). "Four Challenge League spots to be claimed via Malaysia Play-off on road to 2027". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
^ "CWC League 2 and Challenge League cycle to continue for 2027 World Cup qualification | Czarsportz Global". 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
^ "ICC announces qualification pathway for 2027 World Cup". www.cricket.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
^ "What does the path to the 2027 ODI World Cup look like?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
^ "2025 Champions Trophy qualification at stake during ODI World Cup". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
^ ^a ^b "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
^ "USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024–2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed". www.t20worldcup.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
^ ^a ^b ^c "CWC Play-off Points Table | CWC Play-off Standings | CWC Play-off Ranking". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Controversy and confusion at Challenge Play-off: Malaysia crash out despite dubious tactic". Cricbuzz. 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
^ "WCL 2 2024–2026 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
^ "Challenge League A 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
^ "Challenge League B 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 November 2024.

[1] "Cricket World Cup to revert to 14 teams from 2027". The Hindu. 2021-06-01. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-07-16.

[Cricbuzz-2] "Details of 2027 World Cup Qualification pathway revealed". Cricbuzz. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-09-24.

[ESPNcricinfo-3] "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-09-24.

[4] "ICC announces qualification pathway for 2027 World Cup | News". www.cricket.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.

[:1-5] (2024-02-20). "Four Challenge League spots to be claimed via Malaysia Play-off on road to 2027". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 2024-03-16.

[6] "CWC League 2 and Challenge League cycle to continue for 2027 World Cup qualification | Czarsportz Global". 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-07-16.

[:0-7] "ICC announces qualification pathway for 2027 World Cup". www.cricket.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.

[8] "What does the path to the 2027 ODI World Cup look like?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-02-28.

[9] "2025 Champions Trophy qualification at stake during ODI World Cup". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-08-09.

[QualPathESPN-10] "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2023-07-16.

[11] "USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024–2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed". www.t20worldcup.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.

[pts-t-12] "CWC Play-off Points Table | CWC Play-off Standings | CWC Play-off Ranking". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-08-10.

[pts-r-13] "Controversy and confusion at Challenge Play-off: Malaysia crash out despite dubious tactic". Cricbuzz. 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-08-10.

[14] "WCL 2 2024–2026 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2024.

[15] "Challenge League A 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2024.

[16] "Challenge League B 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 November 2024.

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