The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of the ICC were eligible to compete in the league system, which featured a promotion and relegation structure between divisions. The league system had two main aims: to provide a qualification system for the Cricket World Cup that could be accessed by all Associate Members and as an opportunity for these sides to play international one-day matches against teams of similar standards.
The league began in 2007, where 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 had qualified for the 2007 World Cup. At this stage, there were only five divisions. The WCL expanded to eight divisions at one point.
The WCL was a pathway to the Cricket World Cup until 2019. Following the conclusion of the 2019 Division Two tournament, the WCL was replaced by the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 and the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League. The final rankings from the WCL were used to place teams into the two new leagues.
Structure The initial league began in 2007 with seven tournaments over five global divisions, based upon previous world rankings. This was expanded into eight separate divisions by 2010. 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 was regularised to six for each tournament, with the exception of the lowest division, Division 8, in which eight teams played. As from 2015, the number of divisions was again reduced to just five.
When most of the divisions are played, two teams will be promoted, two relegated and two remain for the next instalment (normally two years later). At the end of each cycle, a World Cup Qualifier is played. In 2018, this featured the four lowest teams of those holding 'Full' (senior) status, together with six 'Associate' nations namely the four who were still in Division One, plus the top two from Division Two. The two last-placed teams in that World Cup Qualifier lost their ODI status and were relegated into Division Two.
Regional tournaments, which act as qualifiers for the lowest division of the World League, are administered by the five development regions of the International Cricket Council: Africa, Americas, Asia, East Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
Results
Summary CyclePre-qualification forDivisionsWorld Cup qualification tournament(s)2007–092011 Cricket World Cup52009 Cricket World Cup Qualifier2009–142015 Cricket World Cup82011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship, 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier2012–182019 Cricket World Cup82018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier2017–19League 2, Challenge League → 2023 Cricket World Cup52023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
Division results DetailsHost nation(s)Final venueFinalWinnerResultRunner-up2007–09 ICC World Cricket League – Pathway to the 2011 Cricket World Cup2007Division ThreeGardens Oval, Darwin241/8 (50 overs) Uganda won by 91 runsscorecard 150 all out (46.3 overs)2007Division TwoWanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek347/8 (50 overs) United Arab Emirates won by 67 runsscorecard 280 all out (43.2 overs)2007Division OneNairobi Gymkhana Club, Nairobi158/2 (37.5 overs) Kenya won by 8 wicketsScorecard 155 all out (47 overs)2008Division FiveGrainville, St Saviour81/8 (37.4 overs)Afghanistan won by 2 wicketsScorecard 80 all out (39.5 overs)2008Division FourKinondoni Ground, Dar es Salaam179 all out (49.4 overs)Afghanistan won by 57 runsScorecard 122 all out (45.0 overs)2009Division ThreeBelgrano Athletic Club, Buenos Aires8 points, +0.971(NRR) LeagueTable 8 points, +0.768(NRR)2009WC QualifierSuperSport Park, Centurion, Gauteng 188/1 (42.3 overs)Ireland won by 9 wickets(scorecard) 185 all out (48 overs)2009–14 ICC World Cricket League – Pathway to the 2015 Cricket World Cup2009Division SevenKing George V Sports Ground, Castel207/7 (46.1 overs) Bahrain won by 3 wickets(scorecard) 204/9 (50.0 overs)2009Division SixKallang Cricket Ground, Singapore242/8 (50.0 overs) Singapore won by 68 runs (scorecard) 174 all out (48.4 overs)2010Division FiveTU Cricket Ground, Kathmandu173/5 (46.5 overs) Nepal won by 5 wickets (Match report) 172 (47.2 overs) 2010Division FourCentro Sportivo Dozza, Pianoro188/2 (21.4 overs) United States won by 8 wickets (Match report) 185/9 (50.0 overs) 2010Division EightKuwait Oil Company Hubara Ground, Ahmadi City164/4 (33.1 overs) Kuwait won by 6 wickets (Match report) 163/8 (50.0 overs) 2010Division OneVRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen233/4 (44.5 overs) Ireland won by 6 wickets (scorecard) 232 (44.5 overs) 2011Division SevenBotswana Cricket Association Oval 1, Gaborone219/9 (50 overs) Kuwait won by 72 runs (Match report) 147 (36.5 overs) 2011Division SixKinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur211/8 (49.3 overs) Guernsey won by 2 wickets (Match report) 208/9 (50 overs)2011Division ThreeKowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong207/6 (47.1 overs) Hong Kong won by 4 wickets (Match report) 202/9 (50 overs) 2011Division TwoDSC Cricket Stadium, Dubai201/5 (45.3 overs) United Arab Emirates won by 5 wickets (Match report) 200 (49.3 overs) 2012Division FiveKallang Ground, Singapore164/1 (26.4 overs) Singapore won by 9 wickets (Match report) 159 (47 overs) 2012Division FourKinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur147/2 (28 overs) Nepal won by 8 wickets (Match Report) 145 (48.1 overs) 2013Division ThreeNational Stadium, Hamilton153/5 (39.2 overs) Nepal won by 5 wickets Scorecard 151/8 (50.0 overs)2011–13Championship Various No final 24 points LeagueTable 19 points2014WC QualifierBert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln285/5 (50 overs) Scotland won by 41 runs Scorecard 244/9 (50.0 overs)2012–18 ICC World Cricket League – Pathway to the 2019 Cricket World Cup2012Division EightFaleata Oval No 1, Apia 222/9 (50 overs) Vanuatu won by 39 runs (Match report) 183 (42.5 overs)2013Division SevenBotswana Cricket Association Oval 1, Gaborone 134/4 (32.1 overs) Nigeria won by 6 wickets Scorecard 133 (38.4 overs)2013Division Six— Playoffs cancelled 2014Division FiveKinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur 247/8 (50 overs)Jersey won by 71 runs Scorecard 176 (44.4 overs)2014Division FourKallang, Singapore 235/7 (50 overs) Malaysia won by 57 runsScorecard 178 (46.1 overs)2014Division ThreeKinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur 223/10 (49.5 overs) Nepal won by 62 runsScorecard161 (44.1 overs)2015Division TwoWanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek 213/2 (41 overs) Netherlands won by 8 wicketsScorecard 212 (49.2 overs)2015Division Six County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford 239/4 (45.1 overs) Suriname won by 6 wicketsScorecard 237 (49.5 overs) 2016Division Five Grainville Cricket Ground, Saint Savior 194/7 (50 overs) Jersey won by 44 runsScorecard 150 (45.3 overs)2016Division FourLeo Magnus Cricket Complex, Los Angeles 208 (49.4 overs)United States won by 13 runs Scorecard 195/9 (50 overs)2017Division ThreeEntebbe Cricket Oval 50/2 (4.3 overs)No resultScorecard(Oman declared winner by virtue of finishing league at top) 176/3 (38 Overs)2015–17Championship Various No final 22 pointsLeaguePoints Table 19 points2018Division TwoWanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek 277/4 (50 Overs)United Arab Emirates won by 7 runsScorecard 270/8 (50 Overs)2018WC QualifierHarare Sports Club, Harare 206/3 (40.4 overs) Afghanistan won by 7 wicketsScorecard 204 (46.5 overs)2017–19 ICC World Cricket League – Pathway to the 2023 Cricket World Cup2017Division FiveWillowmoore Park, Benoni 255 (48 Overs)Jersey won by 120 runsScorecard 135 (36.5 Overs)2018Division Four No final 8 pointsLeaguePoints Table 6 points2018Division Three No final 10 pointsLeaguePoints Table 8 points2019Division Two Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek 226/7 (50 overs) Namibia won by 145 runs Scorecard 81 (29 overs)
Associate one-day rankings
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.
In 2005, six associates were assigned One Day International status, based on their performance at the preceding World Cup Qualifier. In 2017, Afghanistan and Ireland were both promoted to "Full" (test-match) status, leaving only four associate nations with ODI-status: after mid-March 2018 these were Scotland, Netherlands, UAE, and Nepal. Netherlands, as winners of the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship, have qualified for a place in the 2020–22 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. In May 2009, the ICC added a rankings table for the associate and affiliate members containing both global and regional placings. In 2016 this changed to maintain a global list only for the top teams and a set of regional lists for the remaining teams.
Rankings
The global rankings of associate teams according to ICC are published in the table below. Teams that have One Day International status are now included on the main ICC ODI Championship and are listed in the order they appear on that table. The other teams are ranked by their finishing position in the most recent qualifying tournament.
The rankings at the end of the WCL (27 April 2019):
Division Rank Nation Region Regional rankODI Status 13 Europe 1 14 Europe 2 15 Asia 1 16 Asia 2 17 Africa 1 18 Asia 3 19 EAP 1 20 Americas 1 Division 2 21 Americas 2 22 Asia 4 Division 3 23 Asia 5 24 Africa 2 25 Europe 3 26 Africa 3 Division 4 27 Asia 6 28 Europe 4 29 EAP 2 30 Americas 3 Division 5 31 Asia 7 32 Europe 5 33 Europe 6 34 Europe 7 35 Africa 4 36 Americas 4
Regional rankings
Teams that do not participate in (or have been relegated from) the World Cricket League are ranked by their finishing positions in their respective regional leagues:
AfricaRankCountry 5 6 7 8 9 N/A
AmericasRankCountry 5 N/A
AsiaRankCountry 8 9 10 11 12 13 N/A ** **
East-Asia PacificRankCountry 3 4 5 6 7 N/A
EuropeRankCountry 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 N/A
** Not member of ICC, but member of Asian Cricket Council.
See also ICC Intercontinental Cup – the equivalent first class competition ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier – a competition between associate and affiliate teams for entry into the Twenty20 World Cup
References
External links ICC World Cricket League