First tournament 2008 Ireland Most successful Ireland (3 titles) | Tournament format Group stage, playoffs Most runs Mohammad Shahzad (895) | |
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Format Twenty20, Twenty20 International Current champion Netherlands (2nd title)
Scotland (1st title) (shared) Administrator International Cricket Council | ||
The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier is an international Twenty20 cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. The tournament serves as the final qualifying event for the ICC World Twenty20 for associate and affiliate members. The first edition was held in 2008, with only six teams. This was increased to eight teams for the 2010 tournament and to 16 teams for the 2012 and 2013 editions, but reduced to 14 for the 2015 edition. Currently, the top six finishers in the qualifier move on to the ICC World Twenty20 tournament. Ireland are the most successful team, having won three tournaments (including one shared with the Netherlands) and qualified for the World Twenty20 on every occasion the tournament has been played.
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2008 Qualifiers
The first ever Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier was played as a Qualifier for 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and was played between 2 August and 5 August 2008 in Stormont, Belfast in Northern Ireland. The top three played in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. The six competing teams were:
The competition was won by Ireland and the Netherlands, who shared the trophy after rain forced the final to be abandoned without a ball bowled. Both teams qualified for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 finals in England. After the withdrawal of Zimbabwe from the competition, the two finalists were joined by third-placed Scotland.
2010 Qualifiers
The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010 was played from February 9–13, 2010 in the United Arab Emirates. It was expanded to eight teams, as Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States entered the tournament for the first time, whereas Bermuda did not enter.
The eight competing teams were:
Afghanistan defeated Ireland in the final to win the championship, and both teams progressed to play in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, the international championship of Twenty20 cricket in the West Indies.
2012 Qualifiers
The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in early 2012. It was an expanded version comprising ten qualifiers from regional Twenty20 tournaments in addition to the six ODI/Twenty20 status countries. A total of 81 countries competed for the ten spots available in the 2012 World Twenty20 Qualifier. The sixteen teams which contested the final qualifying competition were:
Ireland defeated Afghanistan in the final to win the championship, and again both teams progressed to play in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.
2013 Qualifiers
The 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in November 2013. It continued to use a 16-team format, with ten qualifiers from regional Twenty20 tournaments plus the top six finishers of the previous competition. Ireland and Afghanistan (by finishing top of their groups), with Nepal and UAE (by winning first runners up knock out matches) and the Netherlands and Hong Kong (5th and 6th place) qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. The competing countries were:
The top six teams progressed to the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.
2015 Qualifiers
The 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played in July 2015 and co-hosted by two countries for the first time, Ireland and Scotland. Both the final and the third-place playoff were abandoned due to rain; Scotland and the Netherlands shared the title, while Ireland were ranked third over Hong Kong due to a superior performance in the group stage. The number of teams at the tournament was reduced to 14, with the ICC Africa and ICC Americas regional bodies each losing a spot and the ACC gaining one from ICC Europe:
The top six teams progressed to the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.
Winners
The two associate qualifiers for the inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20 were decided in the 2007 World Cricket League Division One tournament. Kenya and Scotland qualified.