Namibia Cricket chair backs revamped World Cup format, sees brighter future for Associates

Namibia Cricket chair and new ICC board member, Rudi van Vuuren, has urged the associate nations to prioritise their focus on the shortest format in the future in the wake of recent changes to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup format. The ICC has introduced a Super Series round in the upcoming edition of the ODI World Cup to be played in 2027 in southern Africa.

A total of 14 teams will participate in the event, where three teams, occupying the 12th to 14th place, will take part in the Super Series round. Only one team from the three will progress to the Group round and become part of either of the groups, having six teams each. On the other hand, the remaining two teams will be eliminated after playing just two matches each.

The format has attracted severe criticism from associate nations, such as Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus, former Netherlands captain Scott Edwards, and Scotland's captain Richie Berrington, who’ve openly expressed their displeasure on the matter.

Rudi van Vuuren believes that the nations need to look at the bigger picture and understand the uncertainty around the relevance of ODI cricket.

"If you understand the bigger picture, it makes sense. We must put it into context. If you look at viewership numbers or if you look at popularity for ODI cricket, we don't really know where it is going. I do see more opportunities for Associates in the T20 world,” Vuuren was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The Namibia Cricket Chairman also assured that the associate nations will be brought into top-level cricket through T20Is.

The T20 World Cup has also undergone a major change. Starting with the 2028 edition, the tournament will feature a single global qualifying event, replacing the existing regional qualification system. Instead of qualification slots being distributed across continents, the top-performing Associate nations from around the world will compete in one global qualifier to earn their places at the World Cup.

Vuuren assured that it’s just an interim change, which could well change ahead of the 2030 edition of the tournament.

Jay Shah has a big vision to grow cricket: Vuuren

“That's going to be an interesting one. As I understand it, the global qualifier is an interim step. There's going to be another structure post this qualifier for T20. And that is linked to the funding structure of the ICC,” he added.

Vuuren expressed faith in the ICC chairman Jay Shah, saying that he has a big vision to grow cricket and the Associate nations will get their fair share of the opportunities.

"The chairman (Jay Shah) has a big vision to grow cricket into the biggest sport in the world. If you want to do that, you have to grow the Associate teams. And to do that, you have to create more opportunities for Associates,” he added.