2024–2026 Cricket World Cup Challenge League

2024–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
Dates25 September 2024 – 2026
Administrator(s)International Cricket Council
Cricket formatList A
Tournament format(s)Round-robin
Host(s)
League A
League B
 Hong Kong (2025)
Participants12
Matches90
Part of a series on the
2027 Cricket World Cup
Wikipedia Category
Commons Category
Background
Stages
Qualification
Overview
Supplementary tournament
League 2
  • 2025
    • 9
    • 10
    • 11
    • 12
    • 13
    • 14
    • 15
    • 16
  • 2026
    • 17
    • 18
    • 19
    • 20
    • 21
    • 22
    • 23
    • 24
Challenge League
  • B
    • 2024
    • 2025
    • 2026
CWC Qualifier

The 2024–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League[1] is the second edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League and a cricket tournament which forms part of the 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification process.[2]

Teams and qualification

Qualification Pathway for the 2027 Cricket World Cup.

The league features twelve teams: those finishing 2nd–4th in their respective league in the 2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League, the top four finishers from 2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off[3] and two teams from the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off.[4][5]

That tournament saw Canada, winner of League A in the previous Challenge League being promoted to League 2 status, while Papua New Guinea was relegated. The other Challenge League winner, Jersey, was not successful in obtaining promotion. The top 2 teams from both groups A and B will secure a spot at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff.[6]

Method of qualification Date of qualification Venues Number of teams Teams
2023 Qualifier Play-off 26 March – 5 April 2023 Namibia
2
  Jersey
 Papua New Guinea
2019–2022 Challenge League 16 September 2019 – 13 December 2022 Various
6
  Denmark
 Hong Kong
 Kenya
 Qatar
 Singapore
 Uganda
2024 Challenge League Play-off 22 February – 3 March 2024 Malaysia
4
  Bahrain
 Italy
 Kuwait
 Tanzania
Total 12

Points table

League A

Pos Team
 Pld W L NR Pts NRR
1  Jersey 5 4 1 0 8 1.776
2  Papua New Guinea 5 4 1 0 8 1.342
3  Kuwait 5 3 2 0 6 −0.777
4  Kenya 5 2 3 0 4 0.087
5  Denmark 5 2 3 0 4 −0.985
6  Qatar 5 0 5 0 0 −1.630
Updated to match(es) played on 5 October 2024. Source: ESPNcricinfo[7]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams

League B

Pos Team
 Pld W L NR Pts NRR
1  Uganda 5 4 0 1 9 2.874
2  Italy 5 3 1 1 7 2.237
3  Hong Kong 5 3 1 1 7 −0.535
4  Bahrain 5 2 2 1 5 −0.287
5  Tanzania 5 0 4 1 1 −2.328
6  Singapore 5 0 4 1 1 −2.356
Updated to match(es) played on 16 November 2024. Source: ESPNcricinfo[8]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams

Fixtures

Each group is scheduled to play three times in a single round-robin tournament format, once each year from 2024 to 2026. This amounts to 15 matches per team and a total of 90 matches.[9]

League Date Location Notes
A 25 September – 5 October 2024 Kenya
B 6–16 November 2024 Uganda
B February 2025 Hong Kong
A 2025 Jersey

References

  1. ^ "CWC League 2 and Challenge League cycle to continue for 2027 world cup qualification". Czarsportz. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Details of 2027 World Cup Qualification pathway revealed". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ^ "ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualification Pathway Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). International Cricket Council. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Everything you need to know about the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Race for League 2 top three set for thrilling climax after Nepal tri-series clean sweep". Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Groups announced for ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League". International Cricket Council. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Challenge League A 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Challenge League B 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Cricket Kenya to host first round of CWC Challenge League group in September 2024". Czarsportz Global. Archived from the original on 23 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.