Former Australia captain Steve Waugh has lambasted the International Cricket Council (ICC) over its recent changes to the ODI World Cup 2027 qualification format. The marquee tournament, which is scheduled to be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year, was supposed to feature 14 teams. However, the ICC recently announced its decision to trim the event from 14 teams to 12, with the teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th facing off in a qualifying round from which only one nation will progress to the main draw.
“It was a backward step, the ODI World Cup went from 14 teams to 12. When you look at FIFA (World Cup), who went from 32 to 48 teams in the last World Cup in soccer (football), and we’ve gone the other way in cricket,” Waugh told The Telegraph . Waugh, who was part of Australia’s World Cup-winning squads in 1987 and 1999, said that for cricket to grow as a global sport, the ICC must focus on increasing competition.
Waugh called it a “step backward” by the ICC, and urged the governing council to take a leaf out of FIFA’s playbook, following a successful 48-team expanded World Cup earlier this year. I don’t understand that rationale. “If we want it to be a global game, we’ve got to be inclusive and encourage other teams. And the only way you get better is through more competition and by playing those tougher teams,” the two World Cup winner added. “These changes represent a setback to Associate Member cricket and risk undermining the progress made in recent years to grow the global game. At a time when cricket is seeking to expand its reach, attract new audiences and strengthen its position on the international sporting landscape, reducing meaningful opportunities for emerging nations sends the wrong message entirely,” it added.
