Cricket World Cup 2023 qualifying: Format, teams and how qualification worked for ICC ODI tournament in India
India is set to host the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup from October 5 to November 19, 2023, with 10 teams set to battle it out to win the coveted ICC trophy.
The 2023 Cricket World Cup saw the advent of a new qualification process. A series of tournaments and competitions decided the composition of teams that would be a part of the showpiece.
And there were some shocks along the way. Here we look back at how the teams qualified.
2023 ODI Cricket World Cup qualifying format
A total of 32 countries were a part of the qualifying cycle. At the end of the process, 10 teams were finalised for the World Cup in India.
The initial 32 teams were divided into three leagues — Super League, League 2 and Challenge League— on the basis of their ICC membership, ODI status and their ranking after the 2017-19 qualifying process.
The Super League featured 13 teams, out of which eight (including the hosts, India) qualified for the World Cup based on the 2020-23 Super League tournament rankings.
Here's how that initial stage of qualification played out:
After this initial stage — and then a series of play-offs between the Associate nations —the remaining teams in contention played in the 2023 Qualifier in Zimbabwe. The top two teams from that qualified directly for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
Ireland, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Oman, Scotland, UAE and United States all took part in that final elimination stage. And, in the end, it was the Netherlands and Sri Lanka who made it through, meeting in the final as Sri Lanka emerged victorious overall.
The shock, though, was the exit of the West Indies.
ODI World Cup 2023 full list of qualified teams
Once the qualifiers were all done, the teams participating in the 2023 World Cup were confirmed. They are:
- India
- Australia
- England
- New Zealand
- Afghanistan
- South Africa
- Pakistan
- Bangladesh
- Sri Lanka
- Netherlands
2023 ODI Cricket World Cup fixtures
Each team will play all the other nine teams in a round-robin format. The top four teams will then qualify for the semi-finals. The host country will play all their games under lights and so all of India's games will begin at 2 p.m. local time, IST.
What time are Cricket World Cup matches?
Cricket World Cup matches will generally take place at 2 p.m. local time IST in India, which for the start of the tournament translates to 7:30 p.m. AEDT in Australia and 9.30 a.m. in the UK.
When the UK clocks change on Sunday, October 29 matches will instead begin at 8.30 a.m. GMT.
Cricket fans in North America, where the next T20 World Cup takes place in 2024, will have to get up early to see matches at 4.30 a.m. for the start of the tournament, and 3.30 a.m. once the North American clocks change.
There will also be a handful of games in the 10.30 a.m. IST slot.
Cricket World Cup venues
India is all set to welcome the nine qualifying nations for the ODI World Cup 2023 with stadiums across 10 cities being set up for the league and playoff games.
The BCCI has granted $6.3 million to every venue for the upgrading of facilities. The semi-finals will be hosted by Mumbai and Kolkata at the iconic Wankhede Stadium and Eden Garden stadiums respectively.
Here's a list of all the cities and venues that will host the ODI World Cup 2023:
Who will win the Cricket World Cup 2023?
The hosts, India, look like the favourites to lift the trophy with the home crowd potentially playing an important role. Under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, India will hope to bring the World Cup home after 12 years.
Latest odds to win Cricket World Cup 2023, as of September 2023.
Click HERE to make your bet in India
Click HERE to make your bet in Australia
Click HERE to make your bet in the UK
