Cricket

ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 – A Pathway to World Cup Qualifiers

By Nikhil Kalro

08 Mar 2024

Nikhil Kalro 08 Mar 2024

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Eight-team event staged over a three-year cycle leading up to 2027 World Cup.
Teams include Namibia, Scotland, Netherlands, UAE, USA, Oman, Canada and Nepal. Canada leads early with three wins.
The tournament format aims to ensure sustained team competitiveness and avoid player burnout. Matches to be broadcasted on FanCode website and app.

The Nepal National Cricket team celebrates in front of their fans after beating Scotland in Kathmandu on February 21, 2023. (Getty Images)

It’s an eight-team event that is being staged over a three-year cycle.

Teams and formats
Venues
Captains and line-ups
Where to watch

Each side plays the other at home, away at a neutral venue. At the end of the cycle, the top four sides go through to the World Cup Qualifiers, which will be a 10-team event comprising two bottom-ranked Full Members (No. 9 and No. 10), the top four teams from CWC League 2 and the top four from the World Cup Qualifier Playoffs.

The four teams that finish at the bottom of CWC League 2 will play four teams from the Challenge League. This tournament will be called the WC Qualifier Playoff. The top four from here will advance to the World Cup Qualifiers. This essentially means teams that are part of CWC League 2 have two chances to qualify for the 2027 World Cup.

Such an exhaustive pathway will ensure teams are ready, but there’s also the flip side to it. There’s a real risk of teams jaded and fatigued by the time they get to the World Cup. This is perhaps why the tournament has been spread out over a longer time span to ensure players don’t burn out while ensuring they are competitive.

Teams and formats

Namibia, Scotland, Netherlands, UAE, USA, Oman, Canada and Nepal are the teams that will be competing. Each team will play a total of 36 ODIs over the next three years, a long enough window to draw ascertains on a player, his form, his type of game, his value, utility and ability that can help you massively while placing your wager for a particular match.

The Netherlands, by virtue of featuring in their third straight ICC global tournament (men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA) in June, come in with a solid pedigree, even though they’ve started slightly shakily. They’re currently third with two wins and two losses in four matches.

Scotland, keen to make up for their no-show at the 2023 men’s World Cup, and Namibia are strong forces, while UAE has recently made a serious pitch to become a top-tier Associate. Remember? They made the Under-19 Asia Cup final, ahead of India and Pakistan, and are investing heavily in their grassroots. Opportunities for a few players to feature in the ILT20—their franchise-based T20 competition—have also helped.

At the moment, Canada have taken the early lead with three wins. Two of these have come against UAE, while their third was against Scotland. Namibia are second, with three wins in four games. Their only defeat so far has come against the Netherlands, while defending a modest 123.

Incidentally, Canada were promoted to this competition after finishing above PNG and Jersey in the Qualifier playoff early last year.

Having regained ODI status last year, Canada are officially placed now in the ICC men’s ODI rankings after more than a decade. They completed the required stipulation of playing at least eight games in the ongoing cycle to enter the men’s ODI rankings. This feat was achieved when they played UAE in the first game of their cycle. They’re now at No. 20, behind UAE.

Oman, who finished second in the previous cycle, and the USA are the only two teams yet to play a game in the competition.

Venues

The three-year qualifying pathways officially kicked off on February 15, with Nepal hosting Namibia in Kirtipur. The Netherlands were the third team in the tri-series. UAE, Canada and Scotland played their tri-series fixtures in Dubai. Windhoek will be one of the other venues. Each of the eight teams will get to play at home, which also brings in Florida as one of the options in a massive year for the USA, given they will be hosting the T20 World Cup, including the blockbuster India v Pakistan fixture on June 8.

Captains and line-ups

Saad Bin Zafar, the Pakistan-born allrounder, captains Canada. At 37, he is among the most experienced players in the line-up. So far, he has been featured in 11 ODIs and 34 T20Is. He’s also made it to the CPL, having played for St Lucia Zouks and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

Nepal is led by the inspirational Rohit Paudel, who has formed an excellent working combination with coach Monty Desai. He has marshalled his troops wonderfully and with a lot of calm, especially in the aftermath of seeing one of their star players - Sandeep Lamichhane - having to fight a legal battle after being convicted of rape.

Scott Edwards, the Australia-born wicketkeeper, leads the Netherlands’ charge. Edwards has been captain for over two years and has overseen a team in transition. The presence of a strong core group of players that includes Bas de Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Teja Nidamanuru, Colin Ackerman, Max O’Dowd and Vikramjit Singh bodes well for their immediate future.

Muhammad Waseem leads UAE’s charge, having overseen a period of turmoil with a number of players sanctioned for their alleged role in match-fixing. They are now under a new coach, India’s Lalchand Rajput, who coached MS Dhoni’s team to the inaugural T20 World Cup title win in 2007.

Monank Patel leads the USA, and he’ll have with him a core group of Indian players who’ve moved. Among them are Unmukt Chand and Smit Patel, who won the Under-19 World Cup with India in 2012. There’s also former New Zealander Corey Anderson in the mix as is Ali Khan, one of their key fast bowlers.

Richie Berrington leads Scotland’s charge, while Gerard Erasmus and Zeeshan Maqsood lead Namibia and Oman’s charge.

Where to watch

You can catch every game on the FanCode website and app. There is no television broadcast of these matches. Live updates and scores can be found on the ICC website and digital platforms. All the matches will also be available live and free to view on ICC.tv (in select regions only). Check out your local listings to ensure you tune in to place your wager on the teams you’re backing. Do remember to play responsibly and set betting limits.

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