2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League

The 2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League is the inaugural edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League and a cricket tournament which forms part of the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualification process.[1][2] The 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]

2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
Dates16 September 2019 – September 2022
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 Qualifier Play-off, taking place in 2022, which feeds into the 2022 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.[1][5] The remaining ten teams cannot qualify for 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 Qualifier 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 remain in the Challenge League for the next edition.

Participants
See also: 2017–19 ICC World Cricket League § Tournament results

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]

LeagueTeamWCL rankLast WCL tournamentPosition
A Canada21Division Two in 20195th[10]
 Singapore23Division Three in 20183rd[11]
 Denmark25Division Three in 20185th[11]
 Malaysia27Division Four in 20183rd[12]
 Vanuatu29Division Four in 20185th[12]
 Qatar31Division Five in 20173rd[13]
B Hong Kong22Division Two in 20196th[10]
 Kenya24Division Three in 20184th[11]
 Uganda26Division Three in 20186th[11]
 Jersey28Division Four in 20184th[12]
 Bermuda30Division Four in 20186th[12]
 Italy32Division Five in 20174th[13]

Fixtures

Each group was scheduled to play three times in a single round-robin tournament format, once each year from 2019 to 2022. This amounts to 15 matches per team and a grand total of 90 matches.[6] In July 2019, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the Malaysian Cricket Association and Cricket Hong Kong would host the 2019 rounds of the tournament.[14] However, citing the instability in Hong Kong, the 2019 matches in League B were moved to Oman.[15] In October 2019, the ICC confirmed that Malaysia would again be the host for the 2020 round of matches in League A, with the Uganda Cricket Association hosting the League B matches.[16]

The 2020 League A tournament in Malaysia was originally scheduled to take place in March 2020.[17] However, in March 2020, the tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rescheduled for 30 September to 10 October 2020.[18][19] On 10 June 2020, the 2020 League B tournament in Uganda was also postponed due to the pandemic.[20] On 25 August 2020, the rescheduled 2020 League A tournament was postponed again.[21] In December 2020, the ICC announced a revised schedule following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

League Date Location Notes
A 16–26 September 2019 Malaysia
B 2–12 December 2019 Oman
A 15–28 August 2021 Canada
B 1–14 September 2021 Jersey
B February 2022 Uganda Originally scheduled for August 2020; postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
A September 2022 Malaysia Originally scheduled for October 2020; postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Points tables

League A
Pos Team Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Qualification
1  Canada 5 4 1 0 0 8 2.253 Qualification for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off[lower-alpha 1]
2  Singapore 5 4 1 0 0 8 0.384
3  Qatar 5 3 2 0 0 6 −0.574
4  Denmark 5 2 3 0 0 4 0.343
5  Malaysia 5 1 4 0 0 2 −0.836 Qualification for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge Play-off[lower-alpha 2]
6  Vanuatu 5 1 4 0 0 2 −1.020
Updated to match(es) played on 26 September 2019. Source: [23]
Notes:
  1. Of the bottom two teams from League 2 and the two teams from the Challenge League, the higher ranked two teams in the Qualifier Play-off would play in the next League 2
  2. The top four teams in the Challenge Playoff would play in the next Challenge League

League B
Pos Team Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Qualification
1  Uganda 5 5 0 0 0 10 0.743 Qualification for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off[lower-alpha 1]
2  Hong Kong 5 3 1 0 1 7 0.100
3  Italy 5 2 2 0 1 5 −0.362
4  Jersey 5 2 3 0 0 4 0.759
5  Kenya 5 1 3 0 1 3 −0.202 Qualification for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge Play-off[lower-alpha 2]
6  Bermuda 5 0 4 0 1 1 −1.722
Updated to match(es) played on 12 December 2019. Source: [24]
Notes:
  1. Of the bottom two teams from League 2 and the two teams from the Challenge League, the higher ranked two teams in the Qualifier Play-off would play in the next League 2
  2. The top four teams in the Challenge Playoff would play in the next Challenge League

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. "ICC Men's CWC Challenge League A postponed". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  22. "Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 qualifying matches rescheduled". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  23. "CWC Challenge League Group A Table - 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  24. "CWC Challenge League Group B Table - 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
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