Hyderabad, NFAPost: The International Cricket Council (ICC) officially launched the inaugural ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, starting July 30 in Southampton with a series between World Champions England and Ireland.
Introduced to bring context to one-day international (ODI) cricket, the Super League will determine qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup, 2023 with the top seven teams automatically booking their spot at the event in India along with the hosts.
Featuring 13 teams, the 12 ICC Full Members and The Netherlands, who qualified by winning the ICC World Cricket Super League 2015-17, the Super League will see each side play four home and four away three match series.
Commenting on the launch, ICC General Manager, Cricket Operations, Geoff Allardice said the organisation is delighted to get the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League underway with World Cup winners England against Ireland.
“The league will bring relevance and context to ODI cricket over the next three years, as qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is at stake. The Super League gives cricket fans around the world even more reasons to watch as the drama of league cricket unfolds,” said ICC General Manager, Cricket Operations, Geoff Allardice.
ICC General Manager, Cricket Operations, Geoff Allardice said the decision last week to move the World Cup back to late 2023 gives ICC more time to schedule any games lost due to COVID-19 and preserve the integrity of the qualification process, meaning it will be decided on the field of play, which is important.
England captain Eoin Morgan said his team looking forward to playing cricket again and to the World Cup Super League.
“Given the situation, it will be quite different to the last time we played at home, when we lifted the World Cup at Lord’s, but it’s nice to be starting our journey for the next edition of the tournament. I’m sure cricket fans all over the world will be excited to see white-ball cricket resume and we’re looking forward to the challenge,” said England captain Eoin Morgan.
“Ireland are a talented team who have shown over the years that they can beat the best on their day. We look forward to what promises to be an interesting series,” explained England captain Eoin Morgan.
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said it’s a privilege to be playing in the inaugural series of the ICC Men’s World Cup Super League.
“It is obviously going to be a huge challenge taking on the team that won the World Cup just a year ago but we have prepared well and have taken confidence from our form over the early months of 2020,” said Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie.
Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said what is important is that the team is getting back on the field and hopes international cricket’s return is steady during these challenging times.
“I look forward to the Irish side putting on a good performance in the upcoming series as we start our campaign for World Cup qualification,” said Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie.
How the World Cup Super League will be played
The Super League adds context to the ODIs played between World Cups. The qualification for the World Cup is the incentive for teams to be at their best.
In the World Cup Super League, each team plays a series of three ODI matches against eight of the 12 other teams, thus figuring in 24 matches each in the championship. Teams play four series at home and four away, ensuring a variety of oppositions, venues and equal home advantage.
The five sides failing to qualify directly will play along with five Associate sides in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023, with two teams from the qualifier rounds making it to the 10-team World Cup in India.
Each team gets 10 points for a win, five for a tie/no result/abandonment and none for a loss. The teams will be ranked according to total points earned across the eight series. There are criteria in place to separate two or more teams on equal points.
