Cricket World Cup to revert to 14 teams from 2027

The Cricket World Cup will return to its previous format, featuring 14 teams, from 2027

The men’s Cricket World Cup will once again become a 14-team tournament in 2027 and 2031, the International Cricket Council said yesterday.  

The changes were announced as the ICC, cricket’s global governing body, unveiled its global schedule of events from 2024-2031.  

The cycle will also see the revival the Champions Trophy, a ‘mini’ World Cup last staged in 2017, when Pakistan won in England, as an eight-team event in 2025 and 2029.  

Only 10 teams contested the 2019 World Cup, won by hosts England, compared to 14 four years earlier.  But a statement issued by the ICC board said: “The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will become a 14 team, 54-match event in 2027 and 2031, whilst the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be expanded to a 20 team, 55-match event in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.”   

Reducing the number of sides involved in the 2011 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to just 10 was a controversial decision by the ICC, with critics arguing it frustrated the global growth of the game.  
Officials defended the move at the time by saying a streamlined format reduced the risk of mismatches and was preferred by broadcasters.  

ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice was also quoted in the statement as saying, “Having the ICC event schedule confirmed through to 2031 is a significant step forward for cricket and will form the basis of our growth strategy for the next decade.   

“The revised approach to selecting hosts for our events will give us much more flexibility to grow the game and engage new fans. There is a smaller pool of countries with the infrastructure needed to host our senior Men’s events which narrows the selection process’’. 

Additionally, many of our Members expressed interest in hosting Women’s and U19 events which gives us a great opportunity to stage events in established and emerging cricket nations.”