TANZANIA: THE International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed the groupings for the next cycle of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League, whereby Tanzania will be among other competing sides for global glory.
Split across two groups of six teams, Challenge League A and Challenge League B will offer a better chance for teams to progress than in the previous edition, with the winners and runners-up from each group securing a place at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff.
The event that involves 12 teams is the pathway for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. According to the ICC, teams will play three roundrobin series from 2024 to 2026 whereby winners and runnersup from each group will progress to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff.
The announcement comes barely a week after both the men and women national teams were eliminated from the third edition of All African Games, but had gained enough experience and confidence ahead of the ICC series.
The teams featured in Challenge League A are Denmark, Jersey, Kenya, Kuwait, Papua New Guinea, and Qatar.
Challenge League B will comprise Bahrain, Hong Kong China, Italy, Singapore, Tanzania and Uganda.
Eight teams qualified for the Challenge League based on their performance in the previous edition of the qualification pathway.
Four teams also secured their place by progressing from the recently concluded Challenge League Playoff held in Malaysia and those are Bahrain, Italy, Kuwait and Tanzania.
While the fixture schedule for the Challenge League is yet to be confirmed, three round-robin series will take place from 2024 to 2026 to determine the teams that will continue their qualification journey, meeting the bottom four teams from the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff.
ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley, had this to say: “The Challenge League represents an important stage in qualification through to the 14-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027.
“The competition provides a competitive platform for high-performing emerging nations to stake a claim for World Cup qualification, and with more teams able to progress in the upcoming cycle, teams will be hungrier than ever to make it to the landmark global event.
“I wish all the teams the best of luck as they continue their journey towards the ultimate prize in men’s ODI cricket, and I’m sure it will continue to unveil some exceptionally talented players along the way,” he said.