2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League

The 2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League is the inaugural edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League, a cricket tournament which forms part of the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualification process.[1][2] The Cricket World Cup Challenge League replaced the World Cricket League (WCL) which was previously used as the pathway to the Cricket World Cup.[3] The first fixtures took place in September 2019, with all matches having List A status.[4]

2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
Dates16 September 2019 – October 2021
Administrator(s)International Cricket Council
Cricket formatList A
Tournament format(s)Round-robin
Participants12
Matches played90

The league features the twelve teams ranked from 21st to 32nd place in the WCL following the conclusion of the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia.[3] The twelve teams are split into two groups, with each group playing a six-team tournament three times on an annual basis.[3]

The top team in each group will advance to the play-off tournament, taking place in 2022, which feeds into the 2022 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.[1][5] The remaining ten teams will be eliminated from the 2023 World Cup.

In addition, either of the top teams could be promoted to the next Cricket World Cup League 2. Of the two top teams from this Challenge League and the bottom two teams in the 2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, whichever two of these four teams are ranked higher in the 2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Play-Off will play in the next League 2 while the two teams ranked lower will play in the next Challenge League.[6] The bottom two teams from each group will play in the relegation play-off tournament in an attempt to qualify for the Cricket World Cup Challenge League in the 2027 Cricket World Cup cycle.

Participants
See also: World Cricket League § Rankings

The following teams were ranked from 21st to 32nd in the World Cricket League following the conclusion of the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament,[7] and were allocated to Groups A and B.[8][9]

Group A:

Group B:

Fixtures

In July 2019, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the Malaysian Cricket Association and Cricket Hong Kong would host the first rounds of the tournament.[14] However, citing the instability in Hong Kong, the first round of matches in League B were moved to Oman.[15] In October 2019, the ICC confirmed that Malaysia would again be the host for the second round of matches in League A, with the Uganda Cricket Association hosting the Group B matches.[16]

The 2020 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A tournament was originally scheduled to take place in March 2020.[17] However, in March 2020, the ICC confirmed that the tournament had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of playing it later in the year.[18] On 24 March 2020, an ICC media release stated that the tournament would be scheduled to take place from 30 September to 10 October 2020.[19] On 10 June 2020, the ICC announced that the 2020 Uganda Cricket World Cup Challenge League B tournament had also been postponed due to the pandemic.[20]

League Date Location Winners
A 16–26 September 2019[21] Malaysia  Canada[22]
B 2–12 December 2019[23] Oman  Uganda[24]
B 3 – 13 August 2020[25] Uganda
A 30 September – 10 October 2020[19] Malaysia
A 2021
B 2021

Points tables

League A
Pos
Team
 P W L T NR Pts NRR 2023 World Cup Qualification 2027 World Cup Qualification
1 Canada 541008+2.253Advance to 2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Play-OffDetermined by Play-Off
2 Singapore 541008+0.384EliminatedQualify for the next Cricket World Cup Challenge League
3 Qatar 532006–0.574
4 Denmark 523004+0.343
5 Malaysia 514002–0.836Relegation to 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge Playoff
6 Vanuatu 514002–1.020

League B
Pos
Team
 P W L T NR Pts NRR 2023 World Cup Qualification 2027 World Cup Qualification
1 Uganda 5500010+0.743Advance to 2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Play-OffDetermined by Play-Off
2 Hong Kong 531017+0.100EliminatedQualify for the next Cricket World Cup Challenge League
3 Italy 522015–0.362
4 Jersey 523004+0.759
5 Kenya 513013–0.202Relegation to 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge Playoff
6 Bermuda 504011–1.722

References
  1. "New qualification pathway for ICC Men's Cricket World Cup approved". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Associates pathway to 2023 World Cup undergoes major revamp". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  3. "ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualification Pathway frequently asked questions". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  4. "The road to World Cup 2023: how teams can secure qualification, from rank No. 1 to 32". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  5. "Xavier Marshall in USA squad for WCL Division Two". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  6. "ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualification Pathway Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). International Cricket Council. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020. Then, two places will be up for grabs in the next edition of the CWC League Two: a. This will be decided between four sides, comprising the sixth and seventh ranked teams from CWC League Two 2019-2021 and table-toppers from CWC Challenge League A and B 2019-2021. b. The top two sides from this group of four will feature in the CWC League 2 in the next edition. c. The bottom two sides from this group will play in CWC Challenge League A and B for the next edition.
  7. "All to play for in last ever World Cricket League tournament". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  8. "Hong Kong to play in group B of ICC Challenge League". Hong Kong Cricket. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  9. "ICC launches the road to India 2023". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  10. "Namibia crowned ICC World Cricket League Division 2 champions with victory over Oman". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  11. "Kenya relegated to World Cup Challenge League". Daily Nation, Kenya. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  12. "Uganda and Denmark qualify for ICC World Cricket League Division 3". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  13. "World Cricket League: Jersey crowned Division Five champions in South Africa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  14. "ICC board and full council concludes in London". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  15. "Politically unstable Hong Kong loses men's CWC Challenge League B hosting rights". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  16. "Zimbabwe and Nepal readmitted; Women's event prize money receives a major boost". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  17. "Landsholdet til Australien og Malaysia". Dansk Cricket. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  18. "Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League A postponed due to Coronavirus outbreak". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  19. "COVID-19 update – ICC qualifying events". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  20. "Two more series on the Road to India 2023 postponed". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  21. "Cricket World Cup – Challenge League". Dansk Cricket-Forbund. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  22. "Canada lose to Singapore". Cricket Canada. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  23. "Oman to replace Hong Kong as hosts of Men's CWC Challenge League B". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  24. "Uganda completes the slam as Jersey down Bermuda". Cricket Europe. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  25. "Men's CWC Challenge League B set to begin next week". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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