From 32 teams gunning for 10 spots back in 2019, seven already boast a spot at the Cricket World Cup already, while 10 teams are out of the running.

The final stages of the Super League, the Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the Qualifier Playoff will all dictate how the final spots will be determined.

Six months out from the start of the Cricket World Cup, a look at how the field currently looks.

Spots secured for Cricket World Cup 2023: 7
Teams already qualified: India, New Zealand, England, Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan

The first eight spots of the 10-team World Cup go to the top eight finishers of the Cricket World Cup Super League, a competition that has run over the last three years that includes the top 13 sides of world cricket.

Seven of the eight spots have been decided, with England currently leading the competition on 155 points (15 wins and a no-result). Six other teams have point tallies already that ensure a top-eight position, with Afghanistan’s 115 points (11 wins and a no-result) the lowest for already-safe teams. New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia are also through with their accumulated points.

The bottom five teams of Super League travel to the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe from June 18.

Automatic World Cup spots left to be claimed from Super League: 1
In the running for the final spot: West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland and South Africa

While a failure in finishing in eighth spot for the four teams in the running isn’t the be all and end all, an automatic spot at the World Cup would bring a huge sigh of relief for the teams who would want to avoid going through the fickleness of the Qualifier.

The West Indies currently sit in the eighth and last automatic spot (88 points), though have already completed their 24-match cycle, and must watch the rest of the competition play out without their influence. To compound their woes, two points were deducted from their total for slow over rates against New Zealand in August, opening the door further for the chasing pack.

With 10 points for wins in the competition, Sri Lanka (77 points) and Ireland (68) have three matches left in their campaign to overtake the West Indies. Sri Lanka are in New Zealand to close out their campaign, while Ireland host Bangladesh in May. South Africa (78 points) meanwhile have two matches left, both against the Netherlands in a home make-up series. 

Just one of these four teams will avoid finishing in the bottom five of Super League, with the other three joining Zimbabwe (12th in Super League) and The Netherlands (13th in Super League) in the Qualifier beginning on June 18.

Cricket World Cup 2023 Spots

Cricket World Cup Qualifier spots confirmed: 5 (Zimbabwe, The Netherlands, Scotland, Oman, Nepal)
Teams to be confirmed for Qualifier: three teams out of West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland and South Africa who miss the top eight of Super League, top two of the Qualifier Playoff

Of the 10 teams playing at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, five are known, of which three come from the recently concluded League 2 competition.

Scotland roared to the top position of League 2, while a strong start to the campaign from Zeeshan Maqsood’s Oman put them ahead of the chasing pack.

The third and final automatic spot was decided in the last of the competition’s 126 matches.

After an incredible tournament comeback, winning 11 of their last 12 matches to go from sixth to third, Nepal locked in the third automatic spot for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier from League 2.

The final day result meant Namibia finished in fourth, consigning them to the Qualifier Playoff, effectively a repechage tournament for the bottom four teams in League 2, and the winner of each of the six-team Challenge League groups (effectively the third tier of international one day cricket), are all still alive in World Cup qualification.

Qualifier Spots

Qualifier Play-Off teams: Jersey, Canada, USA, Papua New Guinea, UAE, Namibia

Held in Namibia from March 24 to April 5, this competition pits the bottom four of League 2 with two teams from the Challenge League, a 12-team competition underneath League 2. To make the Cricket World Cup Qualifier and keep the 2023 dream alive, teams in this competition must finish in the top two.

The 12 teams in Challenge League were split into two groups of six, with each team playing everyone in their group three times across three legs. The winner of each group of the competition to the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff, with Canada running away with Group A and Jersey brushing aside numerous challengers in Group B. The teams not topping the Challenge League groups are the only eliminated teams from Cricket World Cup 2023 qualification to this point.

Bouncing back from the heartbreak of World Cricket League 2 in 2019, where a fifth-placed finish sent them to the Challenge League and resulted in a loss of ODI status, an in-form Canada return to Namibia to write the wrongs. Jersey by contrast are a side enjoying a successful stretch under Chuggy Perchard, and with a number of young, exciting players coming into the fold.

While a top-two finish is the goal, this competition importantly also determines ODI status and League 2 places for the World Cup qualification cycle.

The sixth and seventh place sides from League 2 (UAE and PNG) will battle Jersey and Canada for ODI Status and spots in League 2 for the 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification cycle. The top two sides from this group of four will feature in the League 2 in the next edition, while the bottom two sides will play in CWC Challenge League A and B for the next edition.

All matches in the Qualifier Playoff will be ODI matches irrespective of teams having ODI status prior to the event. That means Jersey will make their ODI debut when taking to the field for their first match in the competition.

Qualifier Playoff