Chief Executive Officer of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Sanjog Gupta, says the sport must provide a stronger backdrop for bilaterals in order to “sustain” the longer formats of the game.
"The era of randomly scheduled bilateral series has to come to an end, because countries will not be able to sustain cricket without context, culture, competition, and competitiveness, which require significant investment of resources, both financial and non-financial," Gupta told the Press Trust of India.
"It's important to stay focused on the four levers which drive attention and affiliation - context, culture, competition and competitiveness - and ODIs can continue not just to survive, but thrive,” Gupta, who was appointed to the position of CEO last July, continued.
“There is a place for the format in the product portfolio, which is inextricably linked to men's and women's World Cups. We need to look at what we want the format to stand for and how we want it to evolve, including the expanse of participation."
Trinidad & Tobago were crowned champions of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars Women’s Under-19 Championship after defeating defending champions Barbados by six wickets in the final at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Saturday.
Batting first, Barbados posted 104 for 5 from their allotted overs, led by an unbeaten 30 from Zaniyah Bruce and 27 from Eboni Brathwaite.
Right-arm medium pacer Sameera Naidoo was the pick of the Trinidad & Tobago bowlers, claiming 3 for 18, while Amrita Ramtahal and Brianna Harricharan took one wicket apiece.
Chasing 105 for victory, Trinidad & Tobago needed just over five runs per over to dethrone the defending champions. Despite losing inspirational captain Samara Ramnath for one in the third over, with the score on 8 for 1, the twin-island republic quickly regained control, reaching 65 for 1 inside the 13th over.
Two quick wickets from Bruce briefly put Trinidad & Tobago under pressure at 79 for 3, but they remained composed and completed the chase at 105 for 4 with an over to spare.
From there, they will compete in the 2027 Olympics Qualifier
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have confirmed the qualification process for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Six teams will participate in both the Men’s and Women’s T20 competitions at the Games, with five places in each event being decided through a combination of ICC events and the T20I rankings.
Australia, Great Britain (via England), India and South Africa, for example, were confirmed as the first qualifiers to represent the continents of Oceania, Europe, Asia and Africa, respectively, after finishing the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup as the highest-placed eligible teams.
Meanwhile, the four highest-placed eligible teams on the ICC Men's T20I Team rankings from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania on December 31 will advance to the men's event.
Dehring believes Windies ‘deserve’ to be at next year's showpiece
For the third consecutive cycle, the West Indies will compete in the qualifying tournament for a chance to participate in the upcoming ICC Men’s ODI World Cup after failing to secure an automatic spot in the 2027 event.
The top eight teams, along with hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, qualify directly for the competition as of the September 30th cut-off date.
Afghanistan’s winning lead in their ongoing series against Ireland has permanently pushed the Caribbean side out of that bracket, rendering potential points from their upcoming three-match series against India, of which two will be contested before the qualification deadline, irrelevant.
The West Indies, who won the first two editions of the World Cup, had participated in every edition of the tournament before 2023, the first of two consecutive qualifiers they failed to advance from.
WI lost their most recent ODI series to New Zealand (AFP/Getty Images)
Barbados created history on Tuesday, recording the highest total in the CWI Rising Stars Women’s Under-19 Championship as they secured an impressive 90-run victory over the Leeward Islands at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.
The Barbadians posted a record-breaking 206 for 2 from their allotted 20 overs, led by a brilliant unbeaten 135 from Eboni Brathwaite, the highest in the tournament’s history.
The 17-year-old’s sensational innings came from just 76 balls and included 17 fours and seven sixes, showcasing an outstanding display of power hitting and stroke play.
Brathwaite, who has already represented the West Indies senior women’s team in two T20 Internationals, shared an unbeaten third-wicket partnership of 108 with Zaniyah Bruce, who contributed 20.
The right-handed opener also played the dominant role in Barbados’ 55-run opening partnership with Jadaeya Holder, who made five.
