The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday launched the inaugural ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League with series between world champions England and Ireland being the first on July 30 in Southampton.
"Introduced to bring context to One-Day International (ODI) cricket, the Super League will determine qualification for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 with the top seven teams automatically booking their spot at the event in India," ICC said in a statement.
Featuring 13 teams, the 12 ICC Full Members and the Netherlands, who qualified by winning the ICC World Cricket Super League 2015-17, the Super League will see each side play four home and four away three-match series.
Commenting on the launch, Geoff Allardice, ICC General Manager - Cricket Operations, said the league will bring relevance and context to ODI cricket.
"We are delighted to get the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League underway with World Cup winners England against Ireland. The league will bring relevance and context to ODI cricket over the next three years, as the qualification for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 is at stake. The Super League gives cricket fans around the world even more reasons to watch as the drama of league cricket unfolds," ICC's official website quoted Allardice as saying.
"The decision last week to move the World Cup back to late 2023 gives us more time to schedule any games lost due to COVID-19 and preserve the integrity of the qualification process, meaning it will be decided on the field of play, which is important," Allardice added.
England captain Eoin Morgan said it is nice to start their journey for the next edition of the tournament. "We're looking forward to playing cricket again and to the ICC Men's World Cup Super League. Given the situation, it will be quite different to the last time we played at home when we lifted the World Cup at Lord's, but it's nice to be starting our journey for the next edition of the tournament," Morgan said.
"I'm sure cricket fans all over the world will be excited to see white-ball cricket resume and we're looking forward to the challenge. Ireland are a talented team who have shown over the years that they can beat the best on their day. We look forward to what promises to be an interesting series," he added.
ICC said that further updates on the Super League and its fixtures will be shared in due course, after a discussion with ICC Member Boards.
