First tournament 2007 | ||
Number of teams Six (2007 and 2010)Eight (since 2011) Administrator International Cricket Council | ||
Hong kong vs netherlands icc world cricket league championship
The ICC World Cricket League Championship is the top division of the World Cricket League (WCL) system, and forms part of the qualification process for the Cricket World Cup.
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The WCL Championship was originally known as World Cricket League Division One, and was played twice under that name (in 2007 and 2010). Those were hosted as standalone tournaments, but a new format was subsequently introduced in which competing teams play multiple games against each other over several years (mirroring the Intercontinental Cup, a first-class competition). All matches in the WCL Championship hold List A status, while matches between higher-ranking teams may hold One Day International (ODI) status.
The first WCL Division One tournament in 2007 featured the top six teams from the 2005 ICC Trophy, while the 2010 tournament featured the top six teams from the 2009 World Cup Qualifier. Two teams from WCL Division Two were added for the 2011–13 WCL Championship, making eight teams in total. The top two teams from the 2011–13 competition (Ireland and Afghanistan) gained automatic qualification for the 2015 World Cup. They were subsequently promoted to the ICC ODI Championship, although the 2015–17 WCL Championship remained an eight-team competition as two additional teams were promoted from Division Two.