ICC sets up ODI League as a pathway to World Cup qualification

The ICC ODI League will be a 13-team affair and will begin in May 2020, the sport’s governing body revealed while making public the next cycle of the Future Tours Programme on Wednesday, 20 June. The one-day international tournament will act as a qualification pathway for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and will see the 12 Test-playing nations and the Netherlands, who gained ODI status by winning the ICC World Cricket League last year, compete against each other.

India to host World Cup 2023

Each side will take part in as many as eight series over a two-year period, against mutually agreed opponents on a home-and-away basis. The league will end on 31 March 2022, with the seven highest-ranked teams apart from India – who make the grade automatically as hosts – qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.

The five remaining sides will fight for a chance to qualify for the tournament through the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier. The tournament, along with the ICC World Test Championship, which will commence in July 2019, significantly increases the cricket played by the likes of Ireland, Afghanistan and the Netherlands.

“From the moment we were granted Full Membership of the ICC, two of the key priorities for Cricket Ireland were to play our first Test match and to negotiate a comprehensive fixture schedule as part of the FTP,” said Warren Deutrom, the Cricket Ireland Chief Executive. “We have now delivered both, and we believe the players and Irish cricket fans will be excited by the enticing programme ahead.

“We are looking at a minimum of 135 men’s matches across the three formats from 2018-2023, both home and away. This does not include any additional bilateral matches we will play against Associate Member sides, qualifying tournament matches for various ICC tournaments, or other bilateral content against those Full Members where a playing window is yet to be finalised. All up, this is a vastly increased workload for players, coaches and administrators, but for the fans it is a feast of regular world-class cricket to enjoy.”

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.