The Scotland and the Netherlands cricket boards on Monday put out a joint statement criticising the International Cricket Council (ICC) for structural changes to the ODI World Cup. While the 50-over World Cup will continue to feature 14 teams, the tournament will adopt a new three-stage competition format intended to ensure meaningful contests from the opening match through to the final.
Under the revised structure, the tournament will begin with a new “Super Series” involving the teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th in qualification. These three teams will compete in a round-robin format, with only the winner advancing to the next stage.
The successful team will then join the remaining 11 qualified nations in the second phase, where two groups of six teams will contest 30 matches. The top three teams from each group, along with the next highest-placed team across both groups, will qualify for the newly introduced Super 7 stage.
This means that nations such as Scotland and Netherlands will basically have to go through at least three qualifying stages to get to the main tournament.
“Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB) are deeply disappointed by the International Cricket Council’s recent decision to implement significant structural changes to the ICC Men’s 50-over World Cup qualification pathway and tournament format with less than 18 months until the competition begins,” the two boards wrote in the joint statement.
“These changes represent a setback to Associate Member cricket and risk undermining the progress made in recent years to grow the global game. At a time when cricket is seeking to expand its reach, attract new audiences and strengthen its position on the international sporting landscape, reducing meaningful opportunities for emerging nations sends entirely the wrong message.”
“Cricket Scotland and the KNCB remain fully committed to working constructively with the ICC and fellow Members to strengthen the global game. However, we have significant concerns about both the impact of these changes and the process through which they have been introduced. The changes risk weakening the integrity and credibility of international cricket, and only highlights the importance of strong governance, transparent decision-making and effective engagement with Members,” it added.
The two boards also said that ICC was being disrespectful about how the cricket body has handled communications with the associate nations following the announcement.
“Following the announcement of the changes, Cricket Scotland, the KNCB and other Associate Members met twice with the ICC, seeking official written communication on the changes and greater clarity around the processes involved’ they said.
“We also requested positive action to strengthen future operational decision-making and an invitation to bilateral planning meetings with Full Members. Since the second meeting more than two weeks ago, there has been no further response from the ICC, which is disappointing and disrespectful given the significance of the issues raised. Decisions of this significance, particularly those directly affecting Associate Members, should be made clearly following meaningful consultation and with sufficient notice for affected Members to understand and respond to the implications,” the statement added.
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