2024–2026 Cricket World Cup Challenge League
| Dates | 25 September 2024 – 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | List A |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin |
| Host(s) |
 Hong Kong (2025) |
| Participants | 12 |
| Matches | 90 |
| Part of a series on the |
| 2027 Cricket World Cup |
|---|
 |
 Wikipedia Category Commons Category |
|
Qualification Overview |
|
|
The 2024–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League[1] is the second edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League and a cricket tournament which forms part of the 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification process.[2]
Teams and qualification
[edit]
The league features twelve teams: those finishing 2nd–4th in their respective league in the 2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League, the top four finishers from 2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off[3] and two teams from the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off.[4][5]
That tournament saw Canada, winner of League A in the previous Challenge League being promoted to League 2 status, while Papua New Guinea was relegated. The other Challenge League winner, Jersey, was not successful in obtaining promotion. The top 2 teams from both groups A and B will secure a spot at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff.[6]
| Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Venues | Number of teams | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Qualifier Play-off | 26 March – 5 April 2023 | Namibia | 2 |
 Jersey
|
 Papua New Guinea
| ||||
| 2019–2022 Challenge League | 16 September 2019 – 13 December 2022 | Various | 6 |
 Denmark
|
| Hong Kong
| ||||
 Kenya
| ||||
 Qatar
| ||||
 Singapore
| ||||
 Uganda
| ||||
| 2024 Challenge League Play-off | 22 February – 3 March 2024 | Malaysia | 4 |
 Bahrain
|
 Italy
| ||||
 Kuwait
| ||||
 Tanzania
| ||||
| Total | 12 |
Fixtures
[edit]Each group is scheduled to play three times in a single round-robin tournament format, once each year from 2024 to 2026. This amounts to 15 matches per team and a total of 90 matches.[7]
| League | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 25 September – 5 October 2024 | Kenya | |
| B | 6–16 November 2024 | Uganda | |
| B | 6–16 February 2025 | Hong Kong | |
| A | August 2025 | Jersey |
Points table
[edit]League A
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jersey
|
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1.776 |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea
|
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1.342 |
| 3 | Kuwait
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −0.777 |
| 4 | Kenya
|
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0.087 |
| 5 | Denmark
|
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −0.985 |
| 6 | Qatar
|
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | −1.630 |
Updated to match(es) played on 5 October 2024. Source: ESPNcricinfo[8]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams
League B
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uganda
|
10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 2.005 |
| 2 | Italy
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 2.905 |
| 3 | Hong Kong
|
10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −0.436 |
| 4 | Bahrain
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 9 | −0.325 |
| 5 | Tanzania (E)
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | −1.549 |
| 6 | Singapore (E)
|
10 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | −2.204 |
Updated to match(es) played on 16 February 2025. Source: ESPNcricinfo[9]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams
(E) Eliminated
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams
(E) Eliminated
Statistics
[edit]League A
[edit]Most runs
[edit]- Source: ESPNcricinfo[10]
- Last updated: 5 October 2024
| Runs | Player | Inns. | HS | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 284 | Rakep Patel |
5 | 91 | 94.66 | 97.93 | — | 3 | 25 | 9 |
| 273 | Saif Ahmad |
5 | 140 | 54.60 | 95.12 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 16 |
| 235 | Zak Tribe |
5 | 100 | 78.33 | 123.68 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 7 |
| 200 | Assad Vala |
4 | 129* | 66.66 | 107.52 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 |
| 195 | Pushkar Sharma |
5 | 60 | 39.00 | 81.25 | — | 2 | 25 | 3 |
Most wickets
[edit]- Source: ESPNcricinfo[11]
- Last updated: 5 October 2024
| Wkts. | Player | Inns. | Ov. | BBI | Ave | SR | Eco. | 4WI | 5WI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Kabua Morea |
5 | 44.5 | 5/29 | 12.86 | 17.93 | 4.30 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Yasin Patel |
5 | 39.0 | 5/48 | 13.83 | 19.50 | 4.25 | — | 1 |
| Saif Ahmad |
5 | 40.2 | 5/38 | 17.75 | 20.16 | 5.28 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Nick Greenwood |
3 | 28.0 | 5/38 | 12.11 | 18.66 | 3.89 | — | 1 |
| Josh Lawrenson |
5 | 30.0 | 5/29 | 12.77 | 20.00 | 3.83 | — | 1 | |
| Alei Nao |
5 | 38.0 | 4/17 | 17.33 | 25.33 | 4.10 | 2 | — |
League B
[edit]Most runs
[edit]- Source: ESPNcricinfo[12]
- Last updated: 18 February 2025
| Runs | Player | Inns. | HS | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 379 | Anshuman Rath |
9 | 90* | 47.37 | 72.60 | — | 3 | 39 | 2 |
| 374 | Riazat Ali Shah |
8 | 104 | 53.42 | 105.94 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 18 |
| 354 | Raghav Dhawan |
8 | 85 | 50.57 | 74.68 | — | 4 | 32 | 7 |
| 329 | Marcus Campopiano |
8 | 62 | 54.83 | 89.15 | — | 2 | 31 | 11 |
| 274 | Sohail Ahmed |
9 | 70* | 45.66 | 62.84 | — | 2 | 19 | 11 |
Most wickets
[edit]- Source: ESPNcricinfo[13]
- Last updated: 18 February 2025
| Wkts. | Player | Inns. | Ov. | BBI | Ave | SR | Eco. | 4WI | 5WI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Yasim Murtaza |
8 | 61.5 | 4/17 | 12.16 | 20.61 | 3.54 | 2 | — |
| Juma Miyagi |
9 | 66.1 | 6/17 | 14.38 | 22.05 | 3.91 | 1 | 1 | |
| 16 | Henry Ssenyondo |
7 | 55.5 | 4/28 | 9.25 | 20.93 | 2.65 | 2 | — |
| 15 | Crishan Kalugamage |
8 | 58.3 | 3/17 | 16.46 | 23.40 | 4.22 | — | — |
| 14 | Gareth Berg |
7 | 52.0 | 3/12 | 12.42 | 22.28 | 3.34 | — | — |
| Alpesh Ramjani |
9 | 6.15 | 5/69 | 15.78 | 26.50 | 3.57 | 1 | 1 |
References
[edit]- ^ "CWC League 2 and Challenge League cycle to continue for 2027 world cup qualification". Czarsportz. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ "Details of 2027 World Cup Qualification pathway revealed". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ "ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualification Pathway Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). International Cricket Council. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "Everything you need to know about the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ "Race for League 2 top three set for thrilling climax after Nepal tri-series clean sweep". Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Groups announced for ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League". International Cricket Council. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Cricket Kenya to host first round of CWC Challenge League group in September 2024". Czarsportz Global. Archived from the original on 23 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
- ^ "Challenge League A 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Challenge League B 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Records / CWC Challenge League Group A 2024-2026 / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ^ "Records / CWC Challenge League Group A 2024-2026 / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ^ "Records / CWC Challenge League Group B 2024-2026 / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ^ "Records / CWC Challenge League Group B 2024-2026 / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 January 2025.