WC qualifier: crucial matches for SL and WI

The state of the ODI championship table on 30 September 2017 will determine which teams will gain direct entry to the WC, and which will have to qualify via next year's Qualifier.

The top 8 teams get direct entry. India, Australia, England, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Bangladesh cannot, mathematically, miss out.

The eighth team will either be Sri Lanka (on 87 points) or West Indies (on 78).

Sri Lanka did themselves no favours with their major to India this week. They have one more match to play, on Sunday. West Indies have a match coming up versus Ireland, and then five versus England.

In brief, if Sri Lanka win (or tie) their match on Sunday, West Indies need all six wins for direct entry to the WC.
If Sri Lanka lose their match on Sunday, West Indies need at least five wins.

The Qualifier will consist of the four bottom teams on the ODI table (Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe and SL/WI), and six other teams via WCL qualification.

It is certainly possible that either Sri Lanka or West Indies will miss out on the next World Cup: Afg, Ire or Zim could easily jag wins.

The Host nation for the Qualifier has not been announced.

So, now 12 Test nations, but only 10 qualifying for the next World Cup still?

SL or WI failing to qualify would really make the ICC look pretty stupid on this issue. We don't need a massive bloated tournament, but we do need all the teams who are reasonably competitive at the format being there, along with a chance for others to break through.

But of course India being guaranteed at least 15 matches trumps all other concerns

Agree 100% beams.

OP, I believe your second paragraph mentions Sri Lanka mistakenly as I understand from the rest of your post that it should not.

It would be a real shame to see either WI or Sri Lanka, both previously event winners, excluded from the WC. More imagination is required from the ICC.

No easy answers here. No one wants to see a never ending competition like we saw in WI when basically we all lost interest.

So maybe 12 teams, 4 groups of 3, top two into quarters.

But as others have sagely noted, that won't suit India.

lardbucket wrote:OP, I believe your second paragraph mentions Sri Lanka mistakenly as I understand from the rest of your post that it should not.

Ah yes, unfortunately I cannot edit it now.


I tend to agree with taipan, I'd prefer 12 teams rather than 10. I was quite happy with the "2 groups of 6 then the semis" idea. Ah well.

OP Tipping wrote:

lardbucket wrote:OP, I believe your second paragraph mentions Sri Lanka mistakenly as I understand from the rest of your post that it should not.

Ah yes, unfortunately I cannot edit it now.


I tend to agree with taipan, I'd prefer 12 teams rather than 10. I was quite happy with the "2 groups of 6 then the semis" idea. Ah well.

I would also be happy with that option.

Also if we reduce the number of games, we could have spare days set up for rain interruptions, giving true cricket results.

Perhaps cricinfo has designed the new schedule, Similar SNAFU.

taipan wrote:No easy answers here. No one wants to see a never ending competition like we saw in WI when basically we all lost interest.

So maybe 12 teams, 4 groups of 3, top two into quarters.

But as others have sagely noted, that won't suit India.

With your lifelong janitorial work experience, I did not expect you conclude any better re BCCI insisting on a longer tournament with plently of matches for Indian team. Some reeducation is in order.

What does not suit the BCCI is ICC tournaments themselves. Champions Trophy and World Cup are nonsense relics where countries like South Africa come together to get BCCI to fund their treasure chests. BCCI, if they could help it, would rather hold an extended IPL.

Next season onward, BCCI would earn a minimum of USD 600 million from IPL + domestic international season each year. It's earning from ICC, in contrast, would be a grand USD 36 million a year. You can do the rest of the math.

Still pretending to be Indian i see. Sort of devalues any comment you make.

Being an Indian devalues my comments? Man, you really must miss the apartheid!

It's more the ICC that can't afford a repeat of 2007, because sponsorship income and viewing figures would take such a hit if India (or to a lesser extent, one of the other major powers) went home after 2 or 3 matches.

Update: India beat Sri Lanka in the last match, so West Indies can afford to lose one of their six upcoming matches.

BCCI just sold rights to IPL at USD 2.55 billion for five years. This makes IPL twice as valuable as Team India itself.

But yeah, BCCI wants a stretched WC earning a fraction of the income generated

The decision to have a 10 team World Cup was made at the height of the ICC's 'big three' phase. Call it their 'Donald Trump' era- something they thought was good at the time, but are now looking back on with cringeworthy regret.

Still, I don't see any reason why they can't now reverse that decision and have a 12 team tournament.

What did the washout do in this context? No change, I'm assuming. But could well seal their fate after tonight.

WI WC fate sealed

"Sri Lanka have become the eighth and final team to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup, following West Indies' seven-wicket defeat against England in the first ODI at Old Trafford.

With September 30 set as the cut-off date, West Indies (78 points) now cannot move ahead of Sri Lanka (86 points) in the ICC ODI rankings, irrespective of how their remaining matches against England pan out."
...
West Indies, two-times champions in 1975 and 1979, must now compete in a 10-team qualifier in 2018, where they will be joined by the bottom three sides in the ICC team rankings - Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland - as well as the top four sides from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and the top two sides from the ICC World Cricket League Division 2. The top two sides will complete the World Cup line-up.

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The Ganjas' descent into abject mediocrity is now confirmed.