The 2027 ODI World Cup, to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, will be a 14-team event but will include a Super Series round before the group stages, and a new Super 7 before the semi-finals.
The new structure, announced by the ICC on Wednesday following the body’s Annual Conference in Edinburgh over the weekend, was introduced, the ICC said, to “enhance consequence” in the early stages.
Teams qualifying 12th to 14th will play the Super Series round. One team from the three will progress to the Group round, becoming one of 12 teams split across two groups. The top three from each group along with the next-best-ranked team across both groups will then qualify for the Super 7, from which the top four go through to the semis.
A 14-team event in 2027 means the ICC sticks to a decision made in June 2021 to expand the marquee 50-team event, after 10-team events in the 2019 and 2023 editions. But the introduction of the round-robin Super Series from which one team goes through, means 12 teams will play in what becomes the meat of the tournament, the group round where 30 games take place. In the original format of this event, two groups of seven would lead to a Super 6 stage, before the semis and final.