Online Reporter
Afghanistan secured automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup with a win over Ireland on Monday, leaving twice champions West Indies to go through qualifiers for the third successive edition of the 50-overs tournament.
The top eight teams in the one-day rankings on September 30, excluding co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, qualify directly for the event.
Afghanistan’s win in Belfast ensured they will finish among those teams, joining Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh.
The West Indies are ranked 10th and cannot make up enough ground to qualify directly despite having two ODIs against India left to play before the cut-off date.
The Caribbean side failed to seal an automatic spot at the 2023 edition and lost in the qualifiers, resulting in their absence from a men’s 50-overs World Cup for the first time.
They successfully negotiated the qualifiers to play at the 2019 edition.
Under the new format for 2027, the winner of the qualifier will advance directly to the second stage of the World Cup, while the teams placing second, third and fourth will play in the first round known as the Super Series.
The 2027 event will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The full tournament schedule has yet to be released.
Meanwhile, – Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB) have criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC) for changing the format of the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup less than 18 months before the tournament.
The ICC introduced a new Super Series phase under which the teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th in the qualification process will contest a tri-series, with only one progressing to the second round, where 12 teams will be split into two groups.
The two Associate Member boards described the lack of communication as “disappointing and disrespectful”.
“These changes represent a setback to Associate Member cricket and risk undermining the progress made in recent years to grow the global game,” they said in a joint statement on Monday.
“At a time when cricket is seeking to expand its reach, attract new audiences and strengthen its position on the international sporting landscape, reducing meaningful opportunities for emerging nations sends entirely the wrong message.”
Associate Members are nations that belong to the ICC but do not hold Full Member status, which is reserved for the game’s leading countries. – Reuters
