Article #78904

• ICC reveals shape of expanded 2027 14-team tournament

• Only one of three lowest-ranked teams would advance

The men’s Cricket World Cup will undergo yet another revamp when it takes place in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year. A convoluted 14-team format has been officially confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), albeit one that trims the competing nations to 12 almost immediately.

While at the last two World Cups the 10 teams played a round-robin league stage that threw up four semi-finalists, the expanded 2027 edition will begin with the three lowest-ranked teams out of the 14 qualifiers playing what has been dubbed a “Super series”. Only one of these teams will progress through to the main event.