The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially announced the inaugural Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League tournament. With the tournament, ICC aims to bring context to the ODI cricket. The Super League will see a total of 156 games which will begin with England’s three-match ODI series against Ireland set to start from July 30. But what is this tournament about? How will the points be decided? Which teams are a part of the inaugural edition of the Super League?
Here is a simple guide to answer all questions regarding ODI World Cup Super League tournament:
Q) How many teams will be participating in the tournament?
There will be 13 teams in the league this year with one team to be declared as the eventual champion. The seven teams which finish at the top will earn automatic qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, alongside. India, as hosts, who have already qualified for the 2023 ODI World Cup. If India are among the seven teams (which most likely will happen), the team that finished at the 8th position will be qualify. The 13 teams competing this year are – Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
Q) What happens to the teams which finish at the bottom?
The five teams that finish at the bottom will still have a chance to qualify for the 2023 World Cup. The five-bottom placed teams, along with Associate nations, will participate in traditional ODI World Cup Qualifiers, which will determine the remaining two spots for the 2023 ODI World Cup
Q) How are the points distributed in Super League?
The points system is rather simple. Each team will earn 10 points for a winning effort and 0 points for a losing effort. In case of a tie, draw, or an abandoned game, both teams will share 5 points each.
Q) Which teams will face each other in Super League?
Much like ICC Test Championship, not all teams will face each other as part of the Super League. All the team will face only eight of the other 12 competing countries in three-match series each. It means each team will play a total of 24 league games. All the teams will play four series at home, and four away series. For example: As per the current Future Tours Programme (FTP) match-ups, India will not be playing against Pakistan as part of the Super League. Also, it must be noted that not all ODIs in a calendar year are part of the Super League.
