Qualification
The Test-playing nations and ODI-playing nations qualify automatically for the the World Cup finals, while the other teams have to qualify through a series of preliminary qualifying tournaments.
Qualifying tournaments were introduced for the second World Cup, where two of the eight places in the finals were awarded to the leading teams in the ICC Trophy.[15] The number of teams selected through the ICC Trophy has varied throughout the years. Currently, six teams are selected for the Cricket World Cup. The World Cricket League (administered by the International Cricket Council) is the qualification system provided to allow the Associate and Affiliate members of the ICC more opportunities to qualify. In 2009, the name "ICC Trophy" will be changed to "ICC World Cup Qualifier".[32]
Under the current qualifying process, the World Cricket League, all 87 Associate and Affiliate members of the ICC are able to qualify for the World Cup. Associate and Affiliate members must play between two and five stages in the ICC World Cricket League to qualify for the World Cup finals, depending on the Division in which they start the qualifying process.
Process summary in chronological order:
- Regional tournaments: Top teams from each regional tournaments will be promoted to a division depending on the teams' rankings according to the ICC and each division's empty spots.
- Division One: 6 Teams - All qualify for the World Cup Qualifier.
- Division Three: 8 Teams – Top 2 promoted to Division Two.
- Division Two: 6 Teams – Top 4 qualify for the World Cup Qualifier.
- Division Five: 8 Teams – Top 2 promoted to Division Four.
- Division Four: 5 Teams - Top 2 promoted to Division Three.
- Division Three(second edition): 6 Teams – Top 2 qualify for the World Cup Qualifier.
- World Cup Qualifier: 12 Teams – Top 6 are awarded ODI status and qualify for the World Cup.
Tournament
- See also: Historical formats of final tournament
The format of the Cricket World Cup has changed greatly over the course of its history. Each of the first four tournaments was played by eight teams, divided into two groups of four.[33] There competition comprised two stages, a group stage and a knock-out stage. The four teams in each group played each other in the round-robin group stage, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals played against each other in the final. With the return of South Africa in 1992 after the ending of the apartheid boycott, nine teams played each other once in the group phase, and the top four teams progressed to the semi-finals.[34] The tournament was further expanded in 1996, with two groups of six teams.[35] The top four teams from each group progressed to quarter-finals and semi-finals.
A new format was used for the 1999 and 2003 World Cups. The teams were split into two pools, with the top three teams in each pool advancing to the "Super 6".[36] The "super 6" teams played the three other teams that advanced from the other group. As they advanced, the teams carried their points forward from previous matches against other teams advancing alongside them, giving them an incentive to perform well in the group stages.[36] The top four teams from the "Super 6" stage progressed to the semi-finals, with winners playing in the final.
The 2007 World Cup will feature 16 teams allocated into four groups of four.[37] Within each group, the teams will play each other in a round-robin format. Teams will earn points for wins and half-points for ties. The top two teams from each group, a total of eight, will move forward to the " Super 8" round. The "Super 8" teams will play the other six teams that progressed from the different groups. Teams will earn points in the same way as the group stage, but will also bring points scored against the other team who qualified from the same group to the "Super 8" stage.[38] The top four teams from the "Super 8" round will advance to the semi-finals, and the winners of the semi-finals will compete in the final.
Trophy
The ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy is presented to the winners of the World Cup finals. The current trophy was created for the 1999 championships, and was the first permanent prize in the tournament's history; prior to this, different trophies were made for each World Cup.[39] The trophy was designed and produced in London by a team of craftsmen from Garrard & Co over a period of two months.
The current trophy is made from silver and gild, and features a golden globe held up by three silver columns. The columns, shaped as stumps and bails, represent the three fundamental aspects of cricket: batting, bowling and fielding, while the globe characterises a cricket ball.[40] The trophy is designed with platonic dimensions, so that it can be easily recognised from any angle. It stands 60 cm high and weighs approximately 11 kilograms. The names of the previous winners are engraved on the base of the trophy, with space for a total of twenty inscriptions.[41]
The original trophy is kept by the ICC. A replica, which differs only in the inscriptions, is permanently awarded to the winning team.
Media coverage
The tournament is one of the world's largest and most viewed sporting events, being televised in over 200 countries to over two billion television viewers.[42][1] Television rights, mainly for the 2011 and 2015 World Cup, were sold for over US$1.1 billion,[43] and sponsorship rights were sold for a further US$500 million.[44] The 2003 Cricket World Cup matches were attended by 626,845 people.[45]
Successive World Cup tournaments have generated increasing media attention as One-day International cricket has become more established. The 2003 World Cup in South Africa was the first to sport a mascot, Dazzler the zebra. An orange mongoose known as Mello will be the mascot for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.[46]
Selection of hosts
The International Cricket Council's executive committee votes for the hosts of the tournament after examining the bids made by the nations keen to hold a Cricket World Cup.[47]
England hosted the first three competitions. The ICC decided that England should host the first tournament because it was ready to devote the resources required to organising the inaugural event.[12] India volunteered to host the third Cricket World Cup, but most ICC members believed England to be a more suitable venue because the longer period of daylight in England in June[48] meant that a match could be completed in one day.[49] The 1987 Cricket World Cup was the first hosted outside England, held in India and Pakistan.
Many of the tournaments have been jointly hosted by nations from the same geographical region, such as South Asia in 1987 and 1996, Australasia in 1992, Southern Africa in 2003 and West Indies in 2007. Every Test playing nation now has hosted or co-hosted a Cricket World Cup at least once, except Bangladesh, the most recent country to achieve Test status.
