The Cricket World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the qualification process for the Cricket World Cup. It is usually played in the year before the World Cup. Although the tournament has used a variety of formats, a final qualification event has been a feature of every World Cup since 1979.
From 1979 to 2001, all associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) were eligible to participate in the ICC Trophy. Regional qualification was introduced for the 2005 ICC Trophy – the final tournament to bear that name – with the World Cricket League (WCL) introduced in 2007. Until 2015, automatic qualification was granted to all full members of the ICC. However, for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, only the top eight teams in the ICC ODI Championship were given automatic qualification, meaning ICC full members played in the Qualifier for the first time. The WCL was discontinued in 2019, with qualification for the World Cup Qualifier instead determined by a series of leagues including the Super League, League 2 and Challenge League.
The number of qualifying berths available from the World Cup Qualifier currently stands at two for the 2023 event, but has varied from a minimum of one (1982, 1986, 1990) to a maximum of five (2005). Zimbabwe is the most successful team, having won three consecutive titles between 1982 and 1990, while Scotland and Sri Lanka are the only other teams to have won multiple titles. Historically, performance at the World Cup Qualifier has been a key determinant for elevation to full membership of the ICC and Test status, with Sri Lanka (1981), Zimbabwe (1992) and Bangladesh (2000) being awarded full membership after ICC Trophy wins.
In September 2018, the ICC confirmed that all matches in the ICC World Cup Qualifier will have ODI status, regardless if a team does not have ODI status prior to the start of an individual tournament event.
Results Year Host Final venue Winner Margin Runner up 1979 Worcester 324-8 (60 overs) 60 runsScorecard 1982 Leicester 5 wicketsScorecard 231-8 (60 overs) 1986 London 243-9 (60 overs) 25 runsScorecard 218 (58.4 overs) 1990 The Hague 198-4 (54.2 overs) 6 wicketsScorecard 197-9 (60 overs) 1994 Nairobi 282-8 (49.1 overs) 2 wicketsScorecard 281-6 (50 overs) 1997 Kuala Lumpur 166-8 (25 overs) Scorecard 241-7 (50 overs) 2001 Toronto 196-8 (50 overs) 2 wicketsScorecard 195-9 (50 overs) 2005 Dublin 324-8 (50 overs) 47 runsScorecard 277-9 (50 overs) 2009 Centurion 188-1 (42.3 overs) 9 wicketsScorecard 185 (48 overs) 2014 Lincoln 285-5 (50 overs) 41 runsScorecard 244-9 (50 overs) 2018 Harare 206-3 (40.1 overs) 7 wicketsScorecard 204 (46.5 overs) 2023 Harare 233 (47.5 overs) 128 runsScorecard 105 (23.3 overs) 2027
Leaderboard
+ Teams reaching the top four Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place 3 (1982, 1986, 1990)1 (2018)1 (2023)5 2 (2005, 2014)2 (1997, 2023)2 (2001, 2018)7 2 (1979, 2023) 2 1 (2001)3 (1986, 1990, 2023)2 (1994, 2009)12 1 (2009) 1 (2005) 1 (1997)7 1 (1994) 1 (2014)8 1 (1997) 1* (1990) 1 (1982)6 1 (2018) 2 2 (1979, 2009) 2 (2001, 2005)10 2 (1994, 1997) 1* (1990) 1 (2009)7 1 (1982) 1* (1979) 3 (1986, 1994, 2005)9 1 (2001)6 1 (2018)2 2 (1979*, 1986)8 1 (1982) 1 (2014)10 1 (2014)8 No play-off for third place was held at the 1979 and 1990 tournaments – teams defeated in the semi-finals are deemed to have shared third place and are indicated with an asterisk (*).
Teams' performances Legend Teams that qualified for the World Cup due to their performance in a particular edition are underlined. AQ – Team received automatic qualification to the World Cup, so did not participate in the Qualifier – Champions – Runners-up – Third place – Losing semi-finalist (no third-place play-off) R1, R2 – First round, second round (no further play-offs) PO – Team lost in an inter-round play-off (2001 only; ranked 9th–10th) × – Qualified, but withdrew
Team197919821986199019941997200120052009201420182023Africa — R1 R1 SF 2nd 2nd AQ 4th 5th — — Ineligible R1 15th 2nd 7th 8th 6th — — Ineligible PO 12th 10th 10th — — — 1st 1st 1st AQ 3rd 4thAmericas R1 × R1 R1 R1 21st R1 — — — — — SF 2nd 4th R1 4th 9th PO 4th 9th — — — 2nd R1 R1 R2 R2 7th 3rd 3rd 2nd 8th — — R1 R1 R1 R2 R1 12th 7th 10th — — — 10thAQ 2nd 5thAsia Ineligible — 5th AQ 1st AQ R1 4th R1 SF R2 1st AQ — R1 R1 R1 R2 8th R1 — — 3rd 10th — R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 16th R1 — — — — — Ineligible — R1 — — 9th 8th 8th Ineligible 9th 11th — — 6th R1 R1 × R1 19th 14th R1 — — — — — 1st AQ 1st Ineligible 1st 10th 5th 6th 7th 2nd 6th 9thEast Asia - Pacific R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 11th R1 — — — — — R1 3rd R1 R2 R1 13th R1 11th — 4th 9th —Europe SF × 3rd R2 R1 5th 6th 8th 12th — — — Ineligible R1 — — — — — Ineligible R1 — — — — — — R1 R1 R1 20th 19th R1 — — — — — Ineligible R2 4th 8th 2nd 1st AQ 5th 7th R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 22nd R1 — — — — — Ineligible 19th × — — — — — R1 R1 2nd 2nd 3rd 6th 1st 5th 3rd 7th 7th 2nd Ineligible 3rd 4th 1st 6th 1st 4th 3rdDefunct teams R1 R1 R1 ICC membership ceased — — — R1 18th 17th R1 ICC membership ceased — R1 — — 17th 18th × ICC membership ceased R1 Invited as a guest team for the 1979 tournament; never an ICC member
Tournament records
Team records Highest innings totals Score Batting team Opposition Venue Date Scorecard455/9 (60 overs) Cannock & Rugeley Cricket Club, Cannock, England 18 June 1986 Scorecard425/4 (60 overs) Old Silhillians, Solihull, England 18 June 1986 Scorecard408/6 (50 overs) Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe 26 June 2023 Scorecard407/8 (60 overs) Griff and Coton Ground, Nuneaton, England 13 June 1986 Scorecard404/9 (60 overs) East and Central Africa Sportpark de Dennen, Nijmegen, Netherlands 8 June 1990 ScorecardUpdated: 26 June 2023
Lowest innings totals Score Batting team Opposition Venue Date Scorecard26 (15.2 overs) Royal Military College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 24 March 1997 Scorecard32 (19 overs) University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 30 March 1997 Scorecard41 (20.4 overs) Maple Leaf Cricket Club, King City, Canada 28 June 2001 Scorecard41 (15.1 overs) Drummond Cricket Club, Limavady, Northern Ireland 5 July 2005 Scorecard44 (27.1 overs) Royal Military College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 27 March 1997 ScorecardUpdated: 7 April 2023
Individual records
Most runs RankRunsInningsBatsmanTeamSpan 1 1,36933 Khurram Khan 2001–2014 2 1,17324 Maurice Odumbe 1990–1997 3 1,04832 Steve Tikolo 1994–2014 4 1,04018 Nolan Clarke 1990–1994 5 91618 Ed Joyce 2001–2018Updated: 7 April 2023
Highest individual score
RankRunsBatsman Batting teamOppositionVenueDateScorecard 1175 Calum MacLeod Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand 23 January 2014 Scorecard 2174 Sean Williams Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe 26 June 2023 Scorecard 3172 Simon Myles High Town, Bridgnorth, England 11 June 1986 Scorecard 4170* David Hemp Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, South Africa 13 April 2009 Scorecard 5169* Rupert Gomes ACC Ground, Amstelveen, Netherlands 4 June 1990Scorecard Updated: 26 June 2023
Most wickets RankWicketsMatchesBowlerTeamT20I career span 1 71 43 Roland Lefebvre 1986–2001 2 63 26 Ole Mortensen 1979–1994 3 50 27 John Blain 1997–2009 4 48 30 Aasif Karim 1986–1997 5 44 23 Pacer Edwards 1986–1994Updated: 7 April 2023
Best bowling figures
RankFiguresBowlerBowling teamOppositionVenueDateScorecard 1 7/9 (7.2 overs)Asim Khan Royal Military College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 24 March 1997 Scorecard 2 7/19 (8.4 overs)Ole Mortensen Impala Sports Club, Nairobi, Kenya 24 February 1994 Scorecard 7/21 (8 overs)Bhawan Singh Nairobi Club Ground, Nairobi, Kenya 14 February 1994 Scorecard 4 7/23 (9.2 overs) Ashraful Haq Water Orton, Birmingham, England 24 May 1979 Scorecard 5 6/11 (6.5 overs) Bharat Gohel Knowle and Dorridge Cricket Club, England 27 June 1986 ScorecardUpdated: 7 April 2023
By tournament Year Player of the final Player of the tournament Most runs Most wickets 1979 Duleep Mendis (221) John Vaughan (14) 1982 Colin Blades (310) Elvin James (15) 1986 Paul Prashad (533) Ronnie Elferink (23) 1990 Andy Flower Nolan Clarke (523) Eddo Brandes (18) 1994 Mohammad Ishaq Nolan Clarke (517) Fred Arua (19) Gavin Murgatroyd (19) 1997 Steve Tikolo Maurice Odumbe Maurice Odumbe (517) Aasif Karim (19) Asim Khan (19) Mohammad Rafique (19) 2001 Jacob-Jan Esmeijer Roland Lefebvre Daniel Keulder (366) Roland Lefebvre (20) Søren Vestergaard (19) 2005 Ryan Watson Bas Zuiderent Bas Zuiderent (474) Paul Hoffmann (17) Edgar Schiferli (17) 2009 Trent Johnston Edgar Schiferli David Hemp (557) Edgar Schiferli (24) 2014 Preston Mommsen Preston Mommsen Khurram Khan (581) Haseeb Amjad (20) 2018 Mohammad Shahzad Sikandar Raza Brendan Taylor (457) Mujeeb Ur Rahman (16) 2023 Dilshan Madushanka Sean Williams Sean Williams (600) Wanindu Hasaranga (22)
See also ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier
References