The opportunity doesn’t come by easy these days for an ICC Associate member to qualify to play in ICC Cricket World Cup. The 2019 edition was a prime example when for the first time after the 1996 World Cup, no Associate member were part of the tournament. What more so, is that the story of 10 nations playing the next edition of the World Cup in 2023 remains the same. So, when the opportunity does arrive to secure a place directly in the main draw, it needs to be grasped by both hands. from 2021-2022, that’s the sole purpose for Netherlands to achieve, when they take part in the 13-nation ODI league, which will be known as Cricket World Cup Super League.
The Super league, featuring the game’s top 13 limited-overs nations was formulated in 2018 during ICC’s Working Committee Meeting. The pathway program will be running for two years leading into the 2023 World Cup, before converting to a three-year league in each cycle beyond that. Each competing team will play in eight series over that time, each one being played over three matches. In total, every member in the Super League (12 Full members + Netherlands) will play 24 ODI matches, which will be a direct pathway for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup qualification.
New qualification pathway for ICC Men's Cricket World Cup approved at ICC Board meetings in Singapore. Videos interviews with David Richardson and William Glenwright available here https://t.co/lku9smgAt6 https://t.co/c1EZ2FgcUL via @icc pic.twitter.com/AlftPGsrGK
— ICC Media (@ICCMediaComms) October 20, 2018
Top 8 team’s at the end of the Super League will qualify directly for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, while the bottom 5 team’s will be relegated to 2022 ICC World Cup Qualifiers, where they will be joined by top 3 team’s from ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 and top 2 team’s from 2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers play-off tournament.
Netherlands qualified on virtue of being the 2015-2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship winners and became the 13th entrant into the league. And if they somehow manage to finish within top 8 at the end of the Super League, their dreams of playing the World Cup will have bear it’s fruits. As part of the Super League, Netherlands will also get to host the likes of Pakistan, West Indies, England and Ireland at home for their 3-match series, which will be hugely beneficial for the growth of the game among the locals and get more sponsorship opportunities due to live broadcast of matches confirmed by ICC.
As per the FTP scheduling, here are the series Netherlands will play against to try and qualify directly for 2023 ICC World Cup in India by finishing in top 8 in the ODI League. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the home series against England and Pakistan in 2020 have been rescheduled for 2022.
FY2021 (All series will constitute minimum 3 ODI’s, which will count towards qualification points system):Â Netherlands vs Ireland (Home) and Netherlands vs Zimbabwe (Away)
FY2022 (All series will constitute minimum 3 ODI’s, which will count towards qualification points system):Â Netherlands vs England (Home), Netherlands vs West Indies (Home), Netherlands vs Pakistan (Home), Netherlands vs Afghanistan (Away), Netherlands vs New Zealand (Away) and Netherlands vs South Africa (Away)
