Qualification
As per ICC regulations, ten Test playing nations will qualify automatically for the tournament. Four associate or affiliate member nations will participate in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Immediately after the 2011 edition of the tournament it was decided that the next World Cup would be reduced to 10 teams, allowing only the ICC's 10 full members to participate. This was met with heavy criticism from a number of associate nations, especially from the Ireland team, who had performed well in 2007 and 2011. The ICC Cricket Committee voted in May 2011 to support the calls for a qualification process. During the ICC's annual conference in Hong Kong in June 2011, the ICC decided that 14 teams will participate in the 2015 World Cup, opening up four qualifying places.
At the ICC Chief Executives' Committee meeting in September 2011, the ICC decided on a new qualifying format. The top two teams of the 2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup One-Day will qualify for the 2015 World Cup, with the remaining six teams joining the third and fourth-placed teams of 2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Two and the top two teams of 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in a ten-team World Cup Qualifier to decide the remaining two places. The date and venue of the final qualifying event is yet to be decided.
While the ICC Intercontinental Cup One-Day will be held on a home and away basis, the ICC has decided to hold the 2013 World Cup Qualifier in Scotland. In another promising sign, the ICC re-branded the Intercontinental Cup One-Day and renamed it the ICC World Cricket League ODI Championship.
The tournament will consist of the following 14 teams:
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