Everything you need to know about the League Two Cycle (2024-2026)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially released the comprehensive schedule for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup League Two 2024-26. The schedule comprises a total of 144 matches to be contested across 24 triseries involving eight participating teams. Notably, the addition of an extra team has expanded the total number of matches from 126 to 144.

Let’s delve into the key highlights of the schedule:

No Change in the Number of Matches for Each Team: Despite the increase in the number of teams, each participating side will play the same number of matches as before, with 36 matches per team. However, unlike in previous editions, teams will not face all opponents an equal number of times. Instead, they will play four matches each against three opponents and six matches against the remaining four teams.

24 Triseries Across 8 Countries: The schedule reveals that a total of 24 triseries will be conducted in eight different countries over the span of three years. Each country will host one series annually.

Nepal’s Schedule and No African Tour: Notably, Nepal will not be traveling to the African continent, as their schedule lacks an away series in Namibia, the only African country in the tournament. Additionally, Canada will not tour Nepal for CWC League 2 matches. The schedule ensures that each team will host all opponents except one for their CWC League 2 matches. However, teams may engage in other bilateral series or tournaments outside the League 2 fixtures. Similar to Nepal, Canada will not undertake a tour to Nepal for Cricket World Cup League 2 matches. The scheduling also dictates that Canada will not host matches against UAE, and UAE will not host matches against Namibia. Scotland, for instance, will not play matches in Oman, while Oman will not be visiting the Netherlands. Consequently, the USA will not host any Cricket World Cup League 2 matches against the Netherlands. Furthermore, the USA won’t be making a trip to Scotland.

No Neutral Venue Matches for Key Rivalries: Rivalries like Nepal vs. UAE and Scotland vs. Netherlands will only feature matches on the home grounds of the respective teams. This pattern extends to Canada vs. Namibia and USA vs. Oman. Intriguingly, all home and away matches for these teams are scheduled for 2025.

Four Teams Advance to Cricket World Cup Qualifier: With the increased number of participating teams, the direct qualifiers for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier have also risen from three to four. The remaining four teams, however, still have an opportunity to qualify for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier and, subsequently, the Cricket World Cup 2027 through the Cricket World Cup League Play-off, set to take place in the African continent (South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia).

Full Schedule: Below is the detailed schedule for the triseries, indicating the host country (H):