The ICC Board on Wednesday approved that Afghanistan and Ireland will join the 10 full members in the rankings-based qualification system for the ICC cricket World Cup 2019.
The top eight-ranked sides on the ICC ODI Team Rankings as on September 30, 2017 will qualify automatically to the 2019 event, while the bottom four will play in the 10-team ICC World Cup qualifier 2018 that will determine the final two teams in the line-up.
As a result, Afghanistan and Ireland will no longer play in the ICC World Cricket League Championship, the ICC’s one-day competition for the leading Associate and Affiliate sides.
The final two positions in the ICC World Cricket League Championship will now be filled by Kenya and Nepal, who finished third and fourth, respectively, in the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 in Namibia last week.
They will join Hong Kong, Namibia, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates in the two-year competition, which is scheduled to start in mid-2015.
The new structure also includes a promotion and relegation system for Associate and Affiliate Members, with a challenge series to take place between the lowest-ranked Associate Member on the rankings table and the winner of the ICC World Cricket League Championship.
The winner of the play-off will be included on the Rankings table for the next cycle, and the loser will compete in the ICC World Cricket League Championship.
Ireland and Afghanistan will continue to play in the four-day, first-class ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015-17, along with Hong Kong, Namibia, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “Both Afghanistan and Ireland have excelled on and off the field in recent years, and this decision is a critical step forward to the ICC’s aim of having more competitive teams in international cricket.”
