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The
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...
(ICC) was founded at
Lord's on 15 June 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference,
with
Australia,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
as its founding members.
In the beginning, only countries within the
Commonwealth could join.
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
joined in 1926, and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
joined in 1953 after the
partition of India.
In 1961,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
resigned from the Conference due to their leaving the Commonwealth,
but they continued to play Test cricket until their international exile in 1970.
The Imperial Cricket Conference was renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, with new rules permitting countries from outside the Commonwealth to be elected into the governing body for the first time:
Fiji and the
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
became the first Associate Member nations that year.
In 1981,
Sri Lanka became the first Associate Member to be elected a Full Member, returning the number of Test-playing nations to seven. In 1989, the ICC was again renamed, this time to the International Cricket Council.
South Africa was re-elected as a Full Member of the ICC in 1991, with
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
elected in 1992,
and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
elected in 2000.
On 22 June 2017,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
were granted Full Member (and Test) status, bringing the number of Full Members to 12.
As of August 2022, there are 108 ICC members, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members.
The Membership Committee will consider all future requests for membership – full and associate – against an objective set of criteria. There was previously a third level, Affiliate Membership, which was abolished in June 2017, with all existing Affiliate Members becoming Associate Members,
and introducing a two-tier
hierarchy (Full Members and Associate Members): any new member elected to the ICC would be an Associate Member, with the possibility of promotion to Full Member status based on ongoing performance in international competition.
From July to October 2019, the ICC suspended
Zimbabwe Cricket
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), previously known as the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) until 2004, is the governing body for the sport of cricket in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Cricket is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and administers th ...
due to government interference, the first time this had occurred with a Full Member side.
Full Members
Full Members are the governing bodies for cricket in a country or a group of associated countries representing a geographical area.
All Full Members have a right to send a representative team to play official Test matches, have full voting rights at meetings of the ICC, and are automatically qualified to play
ODIs and
T20Is.
The West Indies cricket team is a combined team representing 15 countries and territories from the
Caribbean, while the English cricket team represents both
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
and the Irish cricket team represents
all of the island of Ireland.
Of these 12 nations, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland played as Associate Members before being elected as Full Members.
In April 2021, ICC granted permanent
Women's Test status to all the Full Member nations.
Associate Members
Associate Members are countries where cricket is firmly established and organised, but do not qualify for Full Membership.
There are 96 Associate Members.
All Associates were eligible to play in the
World Cricket League
The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of ...
, a series of international one-day cricket administered by the ICC until 2019.
This was replaced by the
ICC Cricket World Cup League 2
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 is an international cricket competition contested in the One Day International format and the second level of the three-league Cricket World Cup qualification system which was introduced in 2019. Seven t ...
and
ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League is a cricket competition contested in the List A format, and the bottom level of the three-league Cricket World Cup qualification system, which was introduced in 2019. Twelve teams participate in t ...
from 2019 onwards.
There are also
ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier events that works as a qualification process for
ICC Men's T20 World Cup
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup (earlier known as ICC World Twenty20) is the international championship of Twenty20. Organised by cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament consists of 16 teams, comprising t ...
: until April 2018, only the qualified teams were awarded
Twenty20 International status.
In April 2018, the ICC announced T20I status for all its members from 1 July 2018 for the women's game, and from 1 January 2019 for the men's game.
''Denotes members that are currently suspended by the ICC.''
Associate Members with ODI status
The
ICC granted men's
One Day International status to its Associate Members based on their success in the
World Cricket League
The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of ...
; the World Cricket League was replaced in 2019 and ODI status now goes exclusively to all teams in the newly created
ICC Cricket World Cup Super League
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League is an international cricket competition contested in the One Day International (ODI) format and the top level of the three-league Cricket World Cup qualification system which was introduced in 2019. ...
and
ICC Cricket World Cup League 2
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 is an international cricket competition contested in the One Day International format and the second level of the three-league Cricket World Cup qualification system which was introduced in 2019. Seven t ...
.
The Associate teams who currently hold men's ODI status are:
Netherlands
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ensured they would regain ODI status after the completion of the
2018 World Cup Qualifier, by winning the
2015–2017 World Cricket League. The next three highest placed associates in the qualifier (UAE, Scotland and Nepal) also gained ODI status. In June 2018, Scotland and UAE were added to the main ODI rankings list, with Nepal joining them in January 2019. Netherlands were also added afterwards after playing enough games to gain a ranking.
Four additional teams gained ODI status after the conclusion of the
World Cricket League Division Two tournament in April 2019.
These teams were
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
,
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
and
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
In April 2021, ICC granted permanent
Women's One Day International
Women's One Day International (WODI) is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was ...
status to all the Full Member teams. On 25 May 2022, five Associate teams were granted Women's ODI status by the International Cricket Council.
Associate Members with T20I status
In April 2018, the ICC announced T20I status for all Members from 1 January 2019. Therefore, all
Twenty20
Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...
matches played between ICC Members since 1 January 2019 have been a full T20I.
Seven nations already had a T20I status before the ICC granted it to every member nations in 2019.
* (Had secured ODI and T20I status from
2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
The 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that took place during March 2018 in Zimbabwe. It formed the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The top two te ...
)
* (Had secured ODI and T20I status from
2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship
The 2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship was the second edition of the ICC World Cricket League Championship. It took place from 2015 until 2017, in parallel with the 2015-17 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Both Ireland national cricket ...
)
* (Had secured ODI and T20I status from
2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
The 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that took place during March 2018 in Zimbabwe. It formed the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The top two te ...
)
* (Had secured ODI and T20I status from
2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
The 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that took place during March 2018 in Zimbabwe. It formed the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The top two te ...
)
* (Had secured T20I status by qualifying for
2016 ICC World Twenty20)
* (Had secured T20I status by qualifying for
2016 ICC World Twenty20)
Former members
There are six countries who were previously members of the International Cricket Council (as associate and/or affiliate members), but were subsequently expelled:
Dissolved members
There were two combined teams who were members of the International Cricket Council (as associate members), but were subsequently dissolved:
* (representing Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia): admitted as an associate member in 1966, the team played at the
inaugural Cricket World Cup in 1975, with Kenya becoming an associate member in its own right in 1981. In 1989, East Africa was succeeded by a combined team from (representing Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi), which remained an associate member, with Uganda and Tanzania becoming associate members in their own right in 1998 and 2001. In 2003, the ICC, Zambia and Malawi mutually agreed to dissolve the team, with Zambia becoming an associate member (expelled in 2021) and Malawi becoming an affiliate member (associate member from 2017).
* (representing Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone): admitted as an associate member in 1976. In 2003, the ICC and the constituent countries mutually agreed to dissolve the team, with Nigeria becoming an associate member and the other three nations becoming affiliate members (associate members from 2017).
Regional bodies
Regional bodies aim to organise, promote and develop the game of cricket in their respective ICC regions.
These are the current bodies:
*
African Cricket Association
The Africa Cricket Association (ACA) is an international body which coordinates the development of cricket in Africa. The ACA was founded in 1997, and has 23 member countries.
The role of the ACA includes promoting the development of cricket in ...
*
Asian Cricket Council
The Asian Cricket Council also known as ACC is a cricket organisation which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional ...
*
ICC Americas
ICC Americas is an international body which oversees cricket in countries in the Americas. It is a subordinate body to the International Cricket Council (ICC). The organisation currently has 17 members, located in Northern America, Central Ameri ...
*
ICC East Asia-Pacific
ICC East Asia-Pacific is the International Cricket Council region responsible for administration of the sport of cricket in East Asia and the Pacific area.
The region was founded in 1996 with a regional office established in 1999. The area cove ...
*
European Cricket Council
Two further regional bodies were dissolved following the creation of the African Cricket Association:
*
*
West Africa Cricket Council
The West Africa Cricket Council was a regional body which organised cricket teams from Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
It ceased to exist in 1997 with the formation of the African Cricket Association, which now oversees all cricket admin ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:ICC members
L
Cricket-related lists