South Africa to host inaugural ICC U19 T20 World Cup

The International Cricket Council (ICC) made several important decisions regarding the inaugural ICC U19 T20 World Cup 2023, the ODI status of the Associate Members, and the qualification pathway for ICC Cricket World Cup 2025 in the board meeting on Sunday (April 10).

The inaugural ICC U19 T20 World Cup was originally scheduled to take place in January 2021. In January 2021, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed that they would host the competition in December 2021. However, the tournament was postponed for the second time. ICC confirmed that the event will now take place in January 2023, with South Africa as the host. The first of its kind tournament will witness the participation of 16 teams. The event will include 41 matches.

The inaugural U19 World Cup will be the curtain-raiser for the 2023 ICC  T20 Cricket World Cup that will also be held in South Africa from 09 – 26 February. Cricket South Africa (CSA) Chief Executive, Pholetsi Moseki welcomed this decision by ICC and thanked the governing body for organising the tournament. “The U19 Women’s World Cup has been eagerly anticipated by cricket fans and following COVID-19 delays, we are delighted to finally welcome the rising stars of the future onto our shores for what will be an exciting, lesson-filled, and potentially life-changing event.

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“On the back of witnessing the fine displays at the recent World Cup, the host cities and venues will be just as excited and ready to set the world stage for the promising cricketers to perform on and be immersed in what will be a first major tournament in the young careers of most of the players," he added.

CSA Board Chairperson, Lawson Naidoo stressed the importance of the tournament for the young players across the globe and in South Africa. “This is a watershed moment for the game of cricket, including for the growth of women’s cricket in the world and in South Africa.

“After the tremendous success of the senior Women’s World Cup in New Zealand this year and the general excitement and interest around the game, it is also important to shine a light on the next generation to ensure the sustainability of the sport amongst aspiring girls and women everywhere," he said.

The ICC Board also approved the recommendation to extend the ODI status to Associate Members as well. The governing body recently expanded the ICC Women’s Championship (ICW) to 10 teams for the 2022-25 World Cup cycle. The Board expects this move to enable the Associate Members to progress to global qualifying events based on ODI rankings. There is no news yet about which Associate Members will receive the ODI Status ahead of the next round of the ICW.

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The apex body also confirmed the qualification pathway for ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2025. For the T20 World Cup, eight teams will gain automatic qualification into the event, comprising the top three teams from each group of the 2023 event plus the host, if they are not already part of those six teams. Along with these six teams, the next two highest-ranked teams on the ICC T20 rankings table at a pre-determined date will compete in the 2024 event. For the remaining two spots, ICC will conduct the T20 World Cup global qualifier.

ICC also approved the qualification process for the next Cricket World Cup in 2025. The yet to be determined host of the event will automatically qualify for the event along with the five highest-placed teams at the end of the ICW 2022-25. The four bottom-placed teams in the IWC and two additional teams from the ODI rankings will lock horns for the remaining two spots in the 2025 World Cup. ICC is yet to decide on the hosts of these tournaments.