2025 World Cup: WICF issue statement on the absence of World VIII Selections

Summary

The announcements of World Eight (VIII) selections has become a past time of recent World Cup tournaments. This involves the selection of the top eight players in each division during competition, effectively becoming a team of the tournament.

There was no such announcement made at the Closing Ceremony of the 2025 World Cup last Saturday in Colombo, and we asked the World Indoor Cricket Federation (WICF) the reasoning as to why this was the case, and what had changed from a governing body perspective to drive this change.

In response, Tony Watkins, WICF President, issued a statement and rationale to Indoor Cricket News on the matter, highlighting an evaluation that was undertaken for naming the top eight players at WICF World Cups prior to this tournament commencing. This covered:

• A background on World VIII selections

• Previous selection methods

• The introduction of the Scored scoring system, and

• Future directions.

In summary, the World Cup Tournament Committee determined, on the balance of the areas considered above, that reliance would not be placed on any previous or current systems used to determine World VIII selection, including the recently implemented Scored scoring system. This has been passed onto the WICF Board for consideration at future tournaments.

Once a full review had taken place, the WICF would determine how an approach to selection of World VIII teams would be made, and opened up the possibility that the naming of formal World VIII teams at future tournaments would be discontinued.

The full WICF statement and review assessment, as received by Indoor Cricket News, is below:

World 8 Selection: Approaches and Evaluation

Review of Systems for Naming Top 8 Teams at World Indoor Cricket Federation World Cups

Background

The process for selecting the "World 8” - the top eight players in each division, at the World Indoor Cricket Federation (WICF) World Cups has evolved over time. Historically, not every World Cup has featured a formal announcement of the top eight players, and a variety of selection systems have been implemented when such announcements have occurred. This review examines the different methods trialled, their strengths and weaknesses, and the direction for future selection processes.

Previous Selection Methods

The WICF has experimented with several approaches to naming the World 8:

• Statistics-based selection: Players were ranked according to their statistical performance. While this method recorded individual contributions, it failed to note which teams these performances were made against. This led to scenarios where players who were regular starters for their teams, were selected as World 8 players due to strong performances against weaker opposition, rather than against the top teams.

• Umpire 3-2-1 points allocation per game: After each game, umpires awarded points (3, 2, or 1) to players based on their assessment of their performance. These points were aggregated to identify standout individuals. However, this system was subject to subjective judgment and potential bias. Additionally, in stronger teams, standout players often shared the points, whilst in weaker teams, a single strong performer could accumulate more points and be selected disproportionately.

• Diverse player selection: Occasionally, selection aimed for greater diversity by including players from a broader range of teams. While this promoted inclusivity, it sometimes conflicted with objective performance metrics, potentially overlooking merit in favour of balance.

Each of these systems presented significant flaws, including a lack of context in statistics, subjectivity in umpire scoring, and tension between diversity and objective performance.

2025: Introduction of the “Scored” System

This year, the tournament trialled a new scoring system called “Scored”. The key innovation was the inclusion of fielding statistics, providing a more holistic view of player performance. The intent was to address gaps in previous methods, particularly the lack of comprehensive data on all aspects of play.

Despite its promise, the “Scored” system was not adopted for official selection. The tournament committee determined that while the system represented an improvement, it was not yet sufficiently robust and could introduce new flaws - for example, an umpires call on who received the credit for a dismissal - this also could have possibly favoured certain fielding positions. The committee opted to defer its use until further refinement could ensure reliability and fairness.

Future Directions

For the current tournament, the committee resolved not to rely on any flawed systems. Instead, a thorough review (“wash up”) of all selection approaches - including the “Scored” system and previous methodologies - will be conducted. This review will assess the strengths and weaknesses of each method, with the aim of determining the best approach for future World Cups.

This measured and reflective approach underscores the committee’s commitment to fairness, transparency, and continual improvement in the selection of World 8 teams. It also recognises the possibility that, given the complexities and challenges, the formal selection of World 8 teams may not continue in future tournaments.

Image: U-Pro Indoor Cricket