To make things spicy, the ICC has tweaked the format of the 14-team Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2027. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will co-host the tournament.
So, here’s all you need to know about the Cricket World Cup 2027 format.
What’s new in the Cricket World Cup 2027 format?
The ICC has introduced a completely new format. It starts with the Super Series, followed by the group stage, the Super 7 and the knockouts.
What’s the Super Series in CWC 2027?
Think of it as a qualifying round for the group stage. Three teams will play in the Super Series.
And who are these teams? The qualified teams that will be ranked 12th, 13th and 14th.
These three teams will fight for the one spot in the group stage. The top team will progress to the next round.
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What happens in the group stage of CWC 2027?
The group stage is simple. It features two groups of six teams each. So 12 teams will be in action across 30 matches.
Teams will face their group opponents once each in a single round-robin format. The top three teams from both groups will qualify for the Super 7 round.
And what about the seventh team?
The highest-ranked team from the remaining six teams across both groups will occupy the seventh spot in the Super 7 round.
How does the Super 7 round in CWC 2027 work?
The Super 7 round features a single group. So teams will play one another once in a single round-robin format.
The top four teams will then qualify for the semi-finals. The table toppers will face the No. 4 team in one semi-final, while the Nos. 2 and 3 sides will clash in the other. The winners of the semi-finals will then meet in the title clash.
Why did the ICC introduce a new format?
The ICC perhaps thought of avoiding too many dead rubbers. The previously proposed format – Group Stage, Super 6 and knockouts – didn’t have a lot of meat, especially in the group stage.
So to make the tournament more competitive and add more context to each game, the ICC came up with a new format.
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