New ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup format explained
The ICC has introduced a new format for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup from the 2027 edition as the tournament expands from 10 to 14 teams.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a new format for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
With the tournament expanding from 10 to 14 teams, a new three-stage format has been introduced to deliver more competitive cricket and enhance the experience for fans.
The tournament has been divided into three rounds before the semi-finals and the final.
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Round 1 - The competition will begin with a Super Series featuring the three lowest-ranked of the 14 qualified teams in a round-robin format. The team that finishes top of the Super Series will progress to the next stage of the competition.
Round 2 (30 matches) - The next stage of the tournament will feature 12 teams competing across 30 matches. The teams will be divided into two groups of six and play in a round-robin format. The top three teams from each group, along with the next best-placed team across both groups, will advance to the Super 7 stage.
Round 3, Super 7 (21 matches) - The Super 7 stage will consist of 21 round-robin matches, with the top four teams progressing to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the team finishing first in the Super 7 standings will face the fourth-placed side, while the second-placed team will take on the third-placed team.
Semi-finals: The winners of the two semi-finals will compete in the final for the ultimate prize.