Win Projections to be updated soon
Dubai, 12 November 2025:
The next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle is likely to include all 12 Full Members in a single division, after proposals for a two-tier structure failed to gain sufficient support among ICC members. A revival of the short-lived ODI Super League is also under consideration.
A working group chaired by former New Zealand batter Roger Twose presented recommendations on the future of the game’s three formats to the ICC Board and Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) during last week’s quarterly meetings in Dubai. The discussions carried added urgency as boards have begun negotiating bilateral series that will form part of the 2027–29 WTC cycle.
The idea of a two-tier Test structure, periodically floated over the past decade, was again discussed but foundered due to concerns over funding and competitive imbalance. A proposed financial model — in which India, England and Australia would help subsidise Division Two teams — failed to progress.
Countries likely to fall into a second division, including West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, resisted the plan due to the reduced opportunity to play against major nations. The concept of promotion and relegation also proved contentious, with leading boards anxious about the financial consequences of potential relegation.
“We wouldn’t want, as England, to go through a fallow period and end up in Division Two not playing Australia and India,” ECB chairman Richard Thompson told the BBC in August. “That couldn’t happen. Common sense has to prevail.”
Instead, the working group has proposed an expanded 12-team WTC from July 2027, with Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland joining the existing nine Full Members. Each nation would be required to play a minimum number of Tests — yet to be determined — during the cycle. However, no additional funding is expected to be made available to support Test hosting costs, a continued challenge for smaller members such as Ireland.
“It guarantees that everyone is playing Test cricket,” one ICC board director told ESPNcricinfo. “Those that want to play the format will now have opportunities, and it gives others an incentive to engage with them.”
The ICC is also considering reinstating the ODI Super League, which was discontinued after the 2023 World Cup. Introduced in 2020 to add context to 50-over cricket, the 13-team league was scrapped amid an increasingly congested calendar, a move that frustrated smaller Full Members and Associate nations.
Details of a revived competition — which could return no earlier than 2028 — remain unclear, including how many teams would participate. “The Super League could help revitalise the 50-over format,” one administrator said. “Perhaps the problem isn’t that the format is dead, but that it needs the right structure.”
The ICC has no current plans to expand the 50-over World Cup beyond 14 teams for 2027, following two editions limited to 10 sides. The T20 World Cup will remain a 20-team event, though some administrators favour gradual expansion to 24 and eventually 32 nations.
Associate members have also submitted proposals to overhaul the T20 World Cup qualification system. In a model similar to Olympic qualifying, a global event would determine the final berths, involving both Associates and Full Members who fail to qualify automatically via rankings. The format could debut for the 2028 tournament and generate new revenue opportunities for smaller boards.
Despite the growing popularity of franchise T10 leagues, the ICC is not expected to sanction the 90-minute format as an official form of the game.
These recommendations will be discussed further at the ICC’s next round of meetings early next year
