9 Things That'll be Happening for the First Time This World Cup

ICC is hosting its 12th edition of Cricket World Cup this year. In all these editions, there is only one thing that has remained constant. Change. Every year ICC introduces some changes in the format of the tournament, leaving fans with so much discussion.

Whether it’s about reducing the number of overs from 60 to 50 or changing the format of the tournament, ICC has practiced all the hit-and-trials. The council doesn’t ponder even for the format of the tournament and the teams participating. Are you aware of different formats of the tournament like round-robin, knockout, etc?

More interesting is that it’s not just the council which is forcing the ups and downs. Many participating countries have gone through their own phases. From West Indies roaring aloud and then becoming the underdogs to Bangladesh securing its direct entry for the first time, one of the biggest tournaments has been a witness to all of them.

So when England and Wales are hosting the World Cup this year, it becomes normal to expect some changes in the rules. Let’s see what’s in the store this year.

1. Round-Robin Format

World Cup tournament this year will be witnessing a complete round-robin format, a format in which each team plays a match with every other team. This will be happening only for the second time in the 12 editions. The first time round-robin was followed was in 1992.

2. Only 10 Teams

This year only 10 teams will be participating in the tournament. This comes after the ICC plan to allow more teams to play the T-20 World Cup. However, this decision hasn’t been welcomed by the associate nations.

3. 1st World Cup Without a Single Associate Team

It will be happening for the first time that no associate team participates in the only 50-over format tournament. All this owes to the 10-teams rule.

4. 1st World Cup Without All Test Playing Nation

Test Cricket is the real essence of cricket, but unfortunately, this will be the first World Cup without all the Test Playing Nations participating. Ireland and Zimbabwe are the 2 countries which play test cricket but won’t be participating in the ICC CWC 2019.

5. No Zimbabwe

It will be happening for the first time that Zimbabwe won’t be playing the world cup tournament since 1981 when it gained the official status.

6. England Will Be Hosting For The 5th Time

England, along with Wales, will be hosting the World Cup for the 5th time. It’s so unfortunate that “The Invincibles” have not been able to win a single cup so far.

7. 1st Time Windies Haven’t Qualified Directly

West Indies, which is officially called Windies now, had to play the qualifiers this time. This happened for the first time that the erstwhile champions couldn’t book a direct spot.

8. Only Top-2 Teams of Qualifiers Have Joined

Another change in the rule which has received wide protests from the associate nations. ICC declared that only Top-2 teams of the qualifiers would join the tournament. This quashed the hope of many rising teams like Ireland, Scotland, Hong Kong, etc.

9. No Quarter-Finals

This will be only the second time after the 1992 World Cup when the initial stage will be followed by the semi-finals directly. There won’t be quarter-finals this time.

Though many of these changes haven’t received quite a welcome as was expected, don’t you think they are necessary to keep the spirit alive? But we do hope for our favourite associate nations to return in the future.