After several years of consultation and debate, the ICC has decided to introduce the most significant initiative so far as it tries to develop cricket among its Associate and Affiliate membership. In 2007 there will be the first playing of the new World Cricket League (WCL), a one-day competition that will complement the ICC Intercontinental Cup, the three-day competition for the top ICC Associate Member countries that was introduced in 2004.

The three-division WCL is intended to bring regular global one-day cricket to the top 18 non-Full Member countries, but every Associate and Affiliate member will have the chance to qualify for the WCL, thereby ensuring that the qualifying pathway for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is open to all 86 of the ICC’s Associate and Affiliate members. Moreover, it will enable countries to play regular one-day cricket against similarly-ranked opponents, regardless of where in the world they are based.

The top 13 sides have already been allocated into Divisions One, Two and Three on the back of their performances in the ICC Trophy Ireland 2005. The remaining places will go to the top teams from five regional qualifying events in 2006 (the European, African, Asian, Americas and East Asia-Pacific Championships). Thus, in 2007, the first year of the competition, the top five teams from the ICC Trophy Ireland 2005 will join Kenya in the WCL's top division.

ICC Global Development Manager Matthew Kennedy said that regular competitive cricket was an essential part of the development plans for the sport.

‘This new structure of one-day cricket will sit on top of regional qualifying events to create a pyramid structure in which all teams have an opportunity to develop and an incentive to improve. Success will be rewarded with promotion and the ICC World Cricket League will allow us to identify the relative strengths of these member countries on a more regular basis than ever before.

‘It means, for example, that Papua New Guinea, the strongest team in the East Asia-Pacific region, will be able to test itself against similarly ranked teams from Uganda in Africa and qualifiers from Europe and the Americas. Before the introduction of the ICC World Cricket League these matches would only take place every four years. Now these opportunities will come around for all countries twice as often.’

All of the matches in the WCL Division One will have One-Day International status. Discussions are also underway to arrange additional ODI matches between these six countries and the ICC Full Member countries ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 and beyond.