World Test Championship expansion to be debated at ICC board meetings in Bali

The ICC board and committee meetings commenced in Bali on November 11, 2026, and are scheduled to run through November 15. Among the most fiercely contested items on the agenda is a proposal to expand the World Test Championship to include all 12 Full Members, a move that has generated heated discussion among member boards ahead of the next WTC cycle.

Currently, the World Test Championship features nine teams. The debate centres on whether the competition should remain at nine, grow to ten, or be opened up to all 12 Full Members. Afghanistan and Ireland have continued to be excluded from the WTC, and the question of their inclusion for the next cycle is very much unresolved. A Governance Review Committee chaired by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia is also set to present initial recommendations on ICC governance reforms at the Bali meetings, following a thorough review commissioned ahead of the 2026 annual conference in Edinburgh.

As reported by Cricinfo, the Bali meeting is also expected to see the presentation of proposed WTC match-ups for the 2027-29 and 2029-31 cycles, alongside a broader look at the 2027-2031 Future Tours Programme. The McKinsey strategic review of international cricket's structure and revenue model is additionally tabled for discussion before the board.

What are the chances of Zimbabwe joining the WTC?

Of the three currently excluded Full Members, Zimbabwe appears closest to gaining a place in the World Test Championship. One scenario being discussed is a ten-team competition that brings Zimbabwe in while leaving Afghanistan and Ireland outside the WTC structure, at least for the next cycle. Zimbabwe played ten Tests in 2025 and two more in 2026, demonstrating a level of activity that strengthens their case, though those matches have been one-off fixtures rather than part of a bilateral championship framework.

England are set to tour Zimbabwe for at least one Test in 2028, which would be a significant bilateral occasion. The two sides last contested a series in 2004, and their overall Test head-to-head stands at seven matches, with the only drawn series between them recorded in December 1996 when Zimbabwe held England to a 0-0 result across two Tests.

Zimbabwe are also scheduled to travel to South Africa in 2027 for Test cricket. Whether Australia will visit Zimbabwe in the next cycle remains unclear; Australia have not played Zimbabwe in Test cricket since 2003, with their only previous meeting being a one-off Test in 1999. The England and Wales Cricket Board has reportedly opposed a fully expanded 12-team WTC competition, which makes a ten-team format a more likely compromise if expansion does proceed.

Meanwhile, Cricket West Indies is exploring the possibility of hosting white-ball series in North America, with Toronto and Washington DC identified as potential venues. Washington Freedom, an MLC franchise with commercial ties to Cricket Canada, is involved in plans to build a 10,000-seat cricket stadium in Frederick, Maryland, located approximately 45 miles north of Washington D.C.

What else is on the ICC board's agenda in Bali?

A special ICC task force focused on Afghan refugee women's cricket is due to present its proposed development pathway to the board in Bali. The taskforce was re-constituted following the annual conference in Edinburgh earlier in 2026 and has been working on a roadmap that includes qualification pathways toward 2030 and potential fixtures for a refugee women's team programme.

On the ODI front, discussions at Bali are expected to touch on the future of the format. Currently, 20 countries hold men's ODI status, including 8 Associate nations. Some Associates have pushed for that number to rise to as many as 32 teams, though that proposal is widely regarded as unlikely to succeed in its current form. The expectation is that ODIs will be played less frequently in the next cycle, with the schedule weighted more heavily toward T20Is and concentrated around the 2030 and 2031 ODI World Cup windows. The Governance Review Committee chaired by Devajit Saikia is set to deliver its initial findings at these meetings, with a fuller review of ICC governance structures to follow.