2027 CWC Format

So the final format is almost as ridiculous as I proposed:

Stage One
Teams ranked 12-14 play a three team tri series with winner progressing

Stage Two
Two groups of six with top three from each progressing along with best fourth-placed team

Stage Three
Super Seven round-robin with no points carried forward from group stage, top four progress

Semifinals

Final


So if you are teams 12-14 and have already fought your way through a qualifier, you still haven't really qualified for the CWC. Instead you are sent to a crappy tri-series with only the winner qualifying for what is essentially a 12-team CWC. My guess is that the only games Namibia will get will be this tri series.

Having a Super 7 (why seven?) round robin after the group stage is nonsense and is a cynical move to try and get a second India v Pakistan matchup. Having no points carried forward makes the group stage particularly pointless.

If the ICC want people to watch this tournament they should have had a group stage followed by knockout matches. A format like this means the tournament will have far too many games, most with little consequence, and people simply lose interest. It almost makes me wonder if the ICC have come up with this terrible format to hasten the demise of fifty-over cricket!

Back in 2017 or whenever it was announced, I was a fan of the 10 team world cup for ODIs. At that time, Afghanistan weren't competitive, and West Indies had ceased to be, so it made sense. Currently however, the Afghans are a top 7 side, WI have improved a bit, and while Bangladesh have slipped a bit, they aren't far off the mark. On top of that Ireland haven't regressed noticeably, Netherlands are a very similar side to the Irish, and the USA can spring an upset. Lastly, but not least, Zimbabwe have improved by leaps and bounds. An expanded ODI WC is necessary. After some thought, I think 14 is the ideal number of teams. 16 is too many. I was previously in favor of 12, but I think with so many improved teams its only fair to have 14 get their chance.

As far as this decision to basically make it a 12 team WC, its not ideal, but it is what it is. It probably will ensure its as competitive as the fundamentals will allow. If you think about it, the top 12 teams are all quite good, so this should be the most competitive WC in a long while.

It is a lot of games for those top 7 teams.

It is also a sad thing for 12-14. Basically a requalification tournament, which is rough on the outsiders.

There is another alternative that the ICC should seriously consider moving forward.

16 team ODI world cup
- top 10 teams in ICC ODI rankings qualify automatically for Round 1 (Group Stage)
- remaining 6 teams qualify via the WCQ/WCL2/CLA-B as per current format
- Round 1 Group Stage
- 4 groups of 4 teams each (3 games for every team)
- top 3 teams advance to Super 12
- reserve days for all group stage matches
- Super 12
- 2 groups of 6 teams each (each team plays 5 games)
- top 4 teams qualify for semifinals

This is the best system to be honest. Gives exposure of 16 teams and preserves an equal shot for all teams to progress. By getting 3/4 of the group teams to advance, you also minimize the risk of India getting knocked out due to one bad day.

Quoted from Kriterion_BD in post #46032

There is another alternative that the ICC should seriously consider moving forward.

16 team ODI world cup
- top 10 teams in ICC ODI rankings qualify automatically for Round 1 (Group Stage)
- remaining 6 teams qualify via the WCQ/WCL2/CLA-B as per current format
- Round 1 Group Stage
- 4 groups of 4 teams each (3 games for every team)
- top 3 teams advance to Super 12
- reserve days for all group stage matches
- Super 12
- 2 groups of 6 teams each (each team plays 5 games)
- top 4 teams qualify for semifinals

This is the best system to be honest. Gives exposure of 16 teams and preserves an equal shot for all teams to progress. By getting 3/4 of the group teams to advance, you also minimize the risk of India getting knocked out due to one bad day.

I liked 16 teams in 2007 but of course India and Pakistan both failed to get out of the group stage and thus the format was ditched for evermore. Like you, I have thought that maybe having 12 instead of 8 progress to the next stage would allay such fears?

Honestly these World Cup's are way too long, why not just four groups of 4, quarterfinals, semifinals, final. The whole tournament could be done in 3 weeks with every match counting for something. I remember the hype leading into the 1996 CWC Quarterfinal between India and Pakistan - it far exceeded anything today as both teams were evenly matched and it was an elimination game. The ICC keeps trying to milk a rivalry that isn't a competitive one anymore. Zimbabwe are probably as likely to beat India as Pakistan!