2023 Cricket World Cup qualification

The 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification process was the edition of Cricket World Cup qualification for the 2023 Cricket World Cup and the introduction of a new qualification process. A series of cricket competitions determined which countries took part in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. In total, 32 countries took part in the qualification process, from which 10 teams qualified for the World Cup.

2023 Cricket World Cup qualification

Dates	14 August 2019 – 9 July 2023
Administrator(s)	International Cricket Council
Cricket format	Twenty20 International
Participants	32
Matches	421
← 2019 2027 →

The 32 teams were divided into three leagues—Super League (13 teams), League 2 (7 teams) and Challenge League (12 teams). Based on the results of the leagues, teams either directly qualify for the World Cup, were eliminated from World Cup qualification, or advanced to other supplementary qualifying tournaments through which they could qualify for the World Cup. The supplementary qualifying tournaments also determined the promotion and relegation between the leagues. As it was the first use of the new process, teams were allocated to the three leagues based on their ICC member status, ODI status and rank from the 2017–2019 ICC World Cricket League.^[1]

Overview

A diagram that explains the qualification structure for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup

As with the previous edition, the 2023 World Cup featured ten teams. The main route for qualification was the 2020–23 Super League tournament. From the thirteen competitors in this tournament, the top seven sides plus the hosts (India) qualified for the World Cup. The remaining five teams, along with five Associate sides, proceeded to the 2023 qualifier, from which two teams went through to the final tournament.^[2][3]

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Venues	Total times qualified	Last time qualified	Previous best performance	Number of teams
India	Hosts & ICC Super League 6th Place	–	–	13	2019	Winners (1983, 2011)	1
New Zealand	ICC Super League Winners	30 July 2020 – 14 May 2023	Various	13	2019	Runners-Up (2015, 2019)	7
England	ICC Super League Runners-Up			13	2019	Winners (2019)
Bangladesh	ICC Super League 3rd Place			7	2019	Quarter-Finals (2015)
Australia	ICC Super League 4th Place			13	2019	Winners (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015)
Afghanistan	ICC Super League 5th Place			3	2019	Groupe Stage (2015, 2019)
Pakistan	ICC Super League 7th Place			13	2019	Winners (1992)
South Africa	ICC Super League 8th Place			9	2019	Semi-Finals (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015, 2019)
Sri Lanka	World Cup Qualifier Winners	18 June – 9 July 2023	Zimbabwe	13	2019	Winners (1996)	2
Netherlands	World Cup Qualifier Runners-Up			5	2011	Groupe Stage (1996, 2003, 2007, 2011)
	Total						10

Teams were eliminated from World Cup qualification as follows:

Tournament	Date	Venue	Eliminations	Teams
Challenge League	16 September 2019 – 14 December 2022	Various	10	Bermuda  Denmark  Hong Kong  Italy  Kenya  Malaysia  Qatar  Singapore  Uganda  Vanuatu
Qualifier Play-off	24 March – 5 April 2023	Namibia	4	Canada  Jersey  Namibia  Papua New Guinea
Qualifier	18 June – 9 July 2023	Zimbabwe	8	Ireland    Nepal  Oman  Scotland  United Arab Emirates  United States  West Indies  Zimbabwe
Total			22

Qualifying leagues

Super League

Main article: 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League

League Outcome

Qualification	Berths	Teams
Host Nation	1	India
Qualified for World Cup	7	Afghanistan  Australia  Bangladesh  England  New Zealand  Pakistan  South Africa
Advanced to Qualifier	5	Ireland  Netherlands  Sri Lanka  West Indies  Zimbabwe
Total	13

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Ded	Pts	NRR	Progress to
1	New Zealand	24	16	5	3	0	175	0.914	2023 Cricket World Cup[a]
2	England	24	15	8	1	0	155	0.976
3	Bangladesh	24	15	8	1	0	155	0.220
4	Australia	24	15	9	0	0	150	0.785
5	Afghanistan	18	14	3	1	0	145	0.573
6	India	21	13	6	2	1	139[b]	0.782
7	Pakistan	21	13	8	0	0	130	0.108
8	South Africa	24	9	13	2	2	98[c]	−0.077
9	West Indies	24	9	15	0	2	88[d]	−0.738	2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
10	Sri Lanka	24	7	14	3	4	81[e]	−0.369
11	Ireland	24	6	15	3	2	73[f]	−0.357
12	Zimbabwe	24	6	17	1	0	65	−0.952
13	Netherlands	24	3	20	1	0	35	−1.179

Source: ICC^[12], ESPN Cricinfo^[13] The series between Afghanistan and India, and Afghanistan and Pakistan were not played (or awarded to either side).
Notes:

1. India qualify automatically as hosts.
2. India were deducted one point for a slow over rate against Australia on 27 November 2020.^[4]
3. South Africa were deducted one point for a slow over rate against Pakistan on 2 April 2021,^[5] and one point for a slow over rate against England on 1 February 2023.^[6]
4. West Indies were deducted two points for a slow over rate against New Zealand on 21 August 2022.^[7]
5. Sri Lanka were deducted two points for a slow over rate against West Indies on 14 March 2021,^[8] one point for a slow over rate against India on 20 July 2021,^[9] and one point for a slow over rate against New Zealand on 25 March 2023.^[10]
6. Ireland were deducted two points for a slow over rate against West Indies on 8 January 2022.^[11]

League 2

Main article: 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2

The outcomes from this tournament were as follows:

Outcome	Berths	Teams
Advanced to Qualifier	3	Nepal  Oman  Scotland
Advanced to Qualifier Play-off	4	Namibia  Papua New Guinea  United Arab Emirates  United States
Total	7

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification for
1	Scotland	36	24	10	0	2	50	0.647	2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
2	Oman	36	21	13	1	1	44	0.039
3	Nepal	36	19	15	1	1	40	0.101
4	Namibia	36	19	16	0	1	39	0.298	2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off
5	United States	36	16	17	2	1	35	−0.040
6	United Arab Emirates	36	15	18	1	2	33	−0.222
7	Papua New Guinea	36	5	30	1	0	11	−0.792

Source: ESPN Cricinfo

Challenge League

Main article: 2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League

The outcomes from this tournament were as follows:

Outcome	Berths	Teams
Advanced to Qualifier Play-off	2	Canada  Jersey
Eliminated from World Cup qualification	10	Bermuda  Denmark  Hong Kong  Italy  Kenya  Malaysia  Qatar  Singapore  Uganda  Vanuatu
Total	12

League A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Canada	15	13	1	0	1	27	2.563	Advanced to the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off
2	Denmark	15	8	6	0	1	17	0.573
3	Qatar	15	8	6	0	1	17	−0.369
4	Singapore	15	7	8	0	0	14	−0.061
5	Malaysia	15	4	11	0	0	8	−1.058	Advanced to the 2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off
6	Vanuatu	15	3	11	0	1	7	−1.365

Source: ESPN Cricinfo^[14]

League B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Jersey	15	11	4	0	0	22	1.541	Advanced to the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off
2	Uganda	15	11	4	0	0	22	1.062
3	Hong Kong	15	9	5	0	1	19	0.548
4	Kenya	15	7	7	0	1	15	0.188
5	Italy	15	5	9	0	1	11	−0.626	Advanced to the 2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off
6	Bermuda	15	0	14	0	1	1	−3.192

Source: ESPN Cricinfo^[15]

Supplementary qualifying tournaments

Qualifier Play-off

Main article: 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off

Six teams took part in the qualifier play-off: the bottom four teams from the League 2 along with the top teams in Groups A and B of the Challenge League. The top two teams from this tournament progressed to the Qualifier.

Teams qualified for this tournament as follows:

Means of qualification for WC Qualifier Play-off	Date	Venue	Berths	Teams
League 2 Bottom 4 teams	August 2019 – March 2023	Various	4	Namibia  Papua New Guinea  United Arab Emirates  United States
Challenge League Top teams of Groups A and B	September 2019 – December 2022	Various	2	Canada  Jersey
Total			6

The outcomes from this tournament are as follows:

Outcome	Berths	Teams
Advanced to Qualifier	2	United Arab Emirates  United States
Eliminated from World Cup qualification	4	Canada  Jersey  Namibia  Papua New Guinea
Total	6

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	United States	5	4	1	0	8	0.810	Advanced to the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier and 2023–2027 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2
2	United Arab Emirates	5	4	1	0	8	0.458
3	Namibia	5	3	2	0	6	0.601	Advanced to the 2023–2027 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2
4	Canada	5	3	2	0	6	0.123
5	Jersey	5	1	4	0	2	−0.840	Relegated to the 2023–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
6	Papua New Guinea	5	0	5	0	0	−1.148

Source: ESPNcricinfo

Qualifier

Main article: 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier

The Qualifier will feature ten teams in total: the bottom five teams from the Super League not including World Cup hosts India; the top three teams from the League 2, and the top two teams from the qualifier play-off. The top two teams from this tournament will qualify for the World Cup.

Teams qualified for this tournament as follows:

Means of qualification for WC Qualifier	Date	Venue	Berths	Teams
Super League Bottom 5 teams	30 July 2020 – 14 May 2023	Various	5	Ireland  Netherlands  Sri Lanka  West Indies  Zimbabwe
League 2 Top 3 teams	14 August 2019 – 16 March 2023	Various	3	Nepal  Oman  Scotland
Qualifier Play-off	26 March – 5 April 2023	Namibia	2	United Arab Emirates  United States
Total			10

The outcomes from this tournament are as follows:

Outcome	Berths	Teams
Qualified for World Cup	2	Netherlands  Sri Lanka
Eliminated from World Cup qualification	8	Ireland    Nepal  Oman  Scotland  United Arab Emirates  United States  West Indies  Zimbabwe
Total	10

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Zimbabwe	4	4	0	0	8	2.241	Advanced to the Super Six
2	Netherlands	4	3	1	0	6	0.667
3	West Indies	4	2	2	0	4	0.525
4	Nepal	4	1	3	0	2	−1.176	Advanced to the 7th–10th Play-offs
5	United States	4	0	4	0	0	−2.169

Source: ESPNcricinfo^[16]

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Sri Lanka	4	4	0	0	8	3.047	Advanced to the Super Six
2	Scotland	4	3	1	0	6	0.540
3	Oman	4	2	2	0	4	−1.221
4	Ireland	4	1	3	0	2	−0.061	Advanced to the 7th–10th Play-offs
5	United Arab Emirates	4	0	4	0	0	−2.249

Source: ESPNcricinfo^[16]

Super Six

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Sri Lanka	5	5	0	0	10	1.600	Advanced to the Final and qualified for the 2023 Cricket World Cup
2	Netherlands	5	3	2	0	6	0.160
3	Scotland	5	3	2	0	6	0.102
4	Zimbabwe (H)	5	3	2	0	6	−0.099
5	West Indies	5	1	4	0	2	−0.204
6	Oman	5	0	5	0	0	−1.895

Source: ICC^[17]
(H) Host

See also

• 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge Play-off