| World Cricket League | |
|---|---|
Official logo |
|
| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
| Format | One Day International List A |
| First tournament | 2007-09 |
| Tournament format | League system |
| Number of teams | 87 nations |
| Current champion | Ireland |
| Most successful | Ireland (1 victory) |
| Website | Pepsi ICC World Cricket League |
| ICC World Cricket League 2009-13 | |
The ICC 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 features a promotion and relegation structure between divisions. The league system has two main aims: to provide a qualification system for the World Cup that can be accessed by all associate and affiliate members, and as an opportunity for these sides to play international one-day matches against teams of similar standards.
In the inaugural ICC World Cricket League 2007-09, teams were allocated into divisions based on their performance in the qualification tournaments for the 2007 World Cup; the six initial teams in Division One were the teams that qualified for the 2007 World Cup. The initial series began with regional qualifiers and a First Division in 2007, and ended with the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier. At this stage, there were only five divisions.
The second cycle began in 2009 with three additional divisions.[1]
Contents |
The World Cricket League was devised by the ICC to provide regular one-day international cricket to Associate and Affiliate countries as well as to provide a qualification route into the ICC World Cup Qualifier (formerly ICC Trophy) and form there to World Cup. Despite some scepticism, it has been a great success, allowing countries to work their way to the top of the pile on merit. This was best highlighted by the rapid ascendency of Afghanistan from Division Five to Division One in under two years.
The competition is divided into nine divisions (it was originally five) with promotion and relegation between them. Each division takes places in one venue over a week in a round-robin league with play-off places resulting from there culminating in a final between the top two and ranking finals for the remaining teams.
The ICC says that competition is about more than just the top Associate teams. "It is a five-division structure designed to afford teams of various standards the opportunity to play regular one-day cricket against similarly ranked opponents regardless of where in the world they are located. It will also ensure that the qualifying pathway for the World Cup is open to the majority of the 91 ICC Associate and Affiliate members."
The first event - the WCL Division 1 competition involving the top six Associates - took place in Nairobi in January/February 2007 and was won by hosts Kenya with Scotland the runners-up. The two sides qualified for the ICC World Twenty in South Africa later in the year.[2]
The WCL was initially divided into five global groups (see below) with the first staging of each division being used to establish grouping thereafter. From 2009 onwards each division will have two promotion and relegations with the exception of the top division.
All sides in Division 1 plus the top four in Division Two and the top two in Division Three 2009 will go through to the ICC World Cup Qualifier (formerly the ICC Trophy) which will be held in the UAE in April 2009. That will in turn produce rankings for each of the top divisions from 2009 onwards.[3]
The initial league began in 2007 with seven tournaments over five global divisions, based upon previous world rankings.[4][5] This was expanded into eight separate divisions for the 2009-13 edition. In the first cycle, the number of teams in each tournament varied from six to twelve. With the advent of the second cycle, the number of teams had regularised to six for each tournament. The exception is the lowest division, Division 8, in which eight teams play. The final of each cycle, the World Cup Qualifier, contains twelve teams as it is a combination of Divisions 1(all 6 teams),2(top 4 teams) and 3 (top 2 teams).
When most of the divisions are played, two teams will be promoted, two relegated and two remain for the next installment, two years later. There are some occasions when this is not the case. When Division 8 is played, though two teams are promoted, only one remains and the bottom five drop out of the system. They are replaced by the top five teams from recent regional events for the next installment. At the end of each cycle, the World Cup Qualifier is played featuring the top twelve teams. According to the results, the top six qualify for Division 1 of the next cycle. The teams that finish seventh to tenth in this tournament proceed to Division 2 and the bottom two are relegated to Division 3. Teams in Division 1 gain ODI status and the top four qualify for the Cricket World Cup. In addition, there is no promotion or relegation so the teams remain until the next World Cup Qualifier is played.
Regional tournaments, which acted as qualifiers for the lower divisions of the first cycle of the World league, and continue to do so for Division 8 in subsequent cycles, are administered by the five Development Regions of the International Cricket Council: Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia-Pacific, and Europe.[1][4]
In late 2005, the International Cricket Council ranked the top non-Test nations from 11-30 to complement the Test nations' rankings in the ICC ODI Championship. The ICC used the results from the 2005 ICC Trophy and WCQS Division 2 competition (i.e. the primary qualification mechanisms for the 2007 Cricket World Cup) to rank the nations.
These rankings were used to seed the initial stage of the global World Cricket League. Teams ranked 11-16 were placed into Division 1; teams 17-20 were placed into Division 2; teams 21-24 were placed into Division 3; the remaining teams were placed into the upper divisions of their respective regional qualifiers.
As of 19 April 2009 the top six associates/affiliates gained one day status. Kenya,Ireland and Netherlands have qualified to appear on the main rating table, Kenya from its existing status, Ireland for its two victories in the 2007 World Cup and Netherlands for its win over Bangladesh. Afghanistan, Canada and Scotland remain on the secondary table. In May 2009, the ICC added a rankings table for all associate and affiliate members. This contained both global and regional placings and can be seen below:
Ranks as on 10 October 2011 according to ICC:[6][6]
| Rank | Nation | Regional Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 10* | Ireland | Europe No.1 Associate/Affiliate member |
| 12 | Netherlands | Europe 2 |
| 13 | Kenya | Africa No. 1 Associate/Affiliate member |
| 14 | Afghanistan | Asia No. 1 Associate/Affiliate member |
| 15 | Scotland | Europe 3 |
| 16 | Canada | Americas No.1 Associate/Affiliate member |
| 17 | United Arab Emirates | Asia 2 |
| 18 | Namibia | Africa 2 |
| 19 | Papua New Guinea | East Asia - Pacific No.1 Associate/Affiliate member |
| 20 | Hong Kong | Asia 3 |
| 21 | Uganda | Africa 3 |
| 22 | Bermuda | Americas 2 |
| 23 | Oman | Asia 4 |
| 24 | Italy | Europe 4 |
| 25 | Denmark | Europe 5 |
| 26 | United States | Americas 3 |
| 27 | Nepal | Asia 5 |
| 28 | Tanzania | Africa 4 |
| 29 | Cayman Islands | Americas 4 |
| 30 | Argentina | Americas 5 |
| 31 | Bahrain | Asia 6 |
| 32 | Singapore | Asia 7 |
| 33 | Guernsey | Europe 6 |
| 34 | Malaysia | Asia 8 |
| 35 | Kuwait | Asia 9 |
| 36 | Jersey | Europe 7 |
| 37 | Nigeria | Africa 5 |
| 38 | Fiji | East Asia - Pacific 2 |
| 39 | Germany | Europe 8 |
| 40 | Botswana | Africa 6 |
| 41 | Norway | Europe 9 |
| 42 | Japan | East Asia - Pacific 3 |
| 43 | Vanuatu | East Asia - Pacific 4 |
| 44 | Zambia | Africa 7 |
| 45 | Suriname | Americas 6 |
| 46 | Gibraltar | Europe 10 |
| 47 | Bhutan | Asia 10 |
| 48 | Bahamas | Americas 7 |
* Zimbabwe are currently 11th due to recent performance. They are not included in this table due to their status as a full member.
| Africa | Americas | Asia | East-Asia Pacific | Europe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 - Ghana | 8 - Panama | 11 - Maldives | 5 - Samoa | 11 - France |
| 9 - Swaziland | 9 - Turks & Caicos | 12 - Saudi Arabia | 6 - Cook Islands | 12 - Israel |
| 10 - Sierra Leone | 10 - Brazil | 13 - Qatar | 7 - Tonga | 13 - Croatia |
| 11 - Mozambique | 11 - Belize | 14 - Thailand | 8 - Indonesia | 14 - Isle of Man |
| 12 - Malawi | 12 - Chile | 15 - Iran | 9-10 - Philippines | 15 - Spain |
| 13 - Rwanda | 13 - Peru | 16 - China | 9-10 - South Korea | 16 - Belgium |
| 14 - Gambia | 14 - Mexico | 17 - Brunei | 17 - Portugal | |
| 15 - Lesotho | 15 - Falkland Islands | 18 - Myanmar | 18 - Cyprus | |
| 16 - Morocco | 16 - Costa Rica | 19 - Malta | ||
| 17-20 - Cameroon | 17 - Cuba | 20 - Switzerland | ||
| 17-20 - Mali | 21 - Austria | |||
| 17-20 - Seychelles | 22 - Luxembourg | |||
| 17-20 - St. Helena | 23 - Finland | |||
| 24 - Greece | ||||
| 25 - Slovenia | ||||
| 26 - Sweden | ||||
| 27 - Czech Republic | ||||
| 28 - Bulgaria | ||||
| 29 - Estonia | ||||
| 30 - Turkey |
| Details | Host Nation(s) | Final Venue | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | |||
| 2007-09 | Various | South Africa | Ireland 188/1 (42.3 overs) |
Ireland won by 9 wickets Scorecard |
Canada 185 all out (48 overs) |
| 2009-13 | Various | Scotland | |||
| 2007–2009 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | Host Nation(s) | Final Venue | Final | |||||
| Winner | Result | Runner-up | ||||||
| 2007 Division One |
Kenya |
Nairobi Gymkhana Club, Nairobi |
Kenya 158/2 (37.5 overs) |
Kenya won by 8 wickets Scorecard |
Scotland 155 all out (47 overs) |
|||
| 2007 Division Three |
Australia |
Gardens Oval, Darwin |
Uganda 241/8 (50 overs) |
Uganda won by 91 runs scorecard |
Argentina 150 all out (46.3 overs) |
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| 2007 Division Two |
Namibia |
Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
United Arab Emirates 347/8 (50 overs) |
United Arab Emirates won by 67 runs scorecard |
Oman 280 all out (43.2 overs) |
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| 2008 Division Five |
Jersey |
Grainville, St Saviour |
Afghanistan 81/8 (37.4 overs) |
Afghanistan won by 2 wickets Scorecard |
Jersey 80 all out (39.5 overs) |
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| 2008 Division Four |
Tanzania |
Kinondoni Ground, Dar es Salaam |
Afghanistan 179 all out (49.4 overs) |
Afghanistan won by 57 runs Scorecard |
Hong Kong 122 all out (45.0 overs) |
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| 2009 Division Three |
Argentina |
Belgrano Athletic Club Buenos Aires |
Afghanistan +0.971(NRR) |
Afghanistan won on net run rate Table |
Uganda +0.768(NRR) |
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| 2009 WC Qualifier |
South Africa |
SuperSport Park Centurion, Gauteng |
Ireland 188/1 (42.3 overs) |
Ireland won by 9 wickets (scorecard) |
Canada 185 all out (48 overs) |
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| 2009–2013 | ||||||||
| 2009 Division Seven |
Guernsey |
King George V Sports Ground, Castel |
Bahrain 207/7 (46.1 overs) |
Bahrain won by 3 wickets (scorecard) |
Guernsey 204/9 (50.0 overs) |
|||
| 2009 Division Six |
Singapore |
Kallang Cricket Ground, Singapore |
Singapore 242/8 (50.0 overs) |
Singapore won by 68 runs (scorecard) |
Bahrain 174 all out (48.4 overs) |
|||
| 2010 Division Five |
Nepal |
TU Cricket Ground, Kathmandu |
Nepal 173/5 (46.5 overs) |
Nepal won by 5 wickets (Match report) |
United States 172 (47.2 overs) |
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| 2010 Division One |
Netherlands |
VRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen |
Ireland 233/4 (44.5 overs) |
Ireland won by 6 wickets (scorecard) |
Scotland 232 (44.5 overs) |
|||
| 2010 Division Four |
Italy |
Centro Sportivo Dozza, Pianoro |
United States 188/2 (21.4 overs) |
United States won by 8 wickets (Match report) |
Italy 185/9 (50.0 overs) |
|||
| 2010 Division Eight |
Kuwait |
Kuwait Oil Company Hubara Ground, Ahmadi City |
Kuwait 164/4 (33.1 overs) |
Kuwait won by 6 wickets (Match report) |
Germany 163/8 (50.0 overs) |
|||
| 2011 Division Three |
Hong Kong |
Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong |
Hong Kong 207/6 (47.1 overs) |
Hong Kong won by 4 wickets (Match report) |
Papua New Guinea 202/9 (50 overs) |
|||
| 2011 Division Two |
UAE |
DSC Cricket Stadium, Dubai |
United Arab Emirates 201/5 (45.3 overs) |
United Arab Emirates won by 5 wickets (Match report) |
Namibia 200 (49.3 overs) |
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| 2011 Division Seven |
Botswana |
Botswana Cricket Association Oval 1, Gaborone |
Kuwait 219/9 (50 overs) |
Kuwait won by 72 runs (Match report) |
Nigeria 147 (36.5 overs) |
|||
| 2011 Division Six |
Malaysia |
Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur |
Guernsey 211/8 (49.3 overs) |
Guernsey won by 2 wickets (Match report) |
Malaysia 208/9 (50 overs) |
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