Who benefits from T20 World Cup expansion?

Papua New Guinea (East Asia Pacific)

Because of the switch to a regional qualifier system, one team from the East Asia Pacific region is guaranteed a berth at the 2024 World Cup.

The most likely beneficiaries are Papua New Guinea, who played at the 2021 T20 World Cup, but lost all three games. As the highest ranked team in the region, PNG will certainly carry the ‘favourites’ tag.

Despite this, it hasn’t been plain sailing for the Barramundis, who have struggled since their 2019 peak. They lost all three games at their 2021 World Cup debut, and struggled at the 2022 Global Qualifier B, losing to Hong Kong before recovering to third place. They’ve also struggled in ODIs, winning just 2 of 28 games in Cricket World Cup League 2 so far.

Standing between PNG and a second World Cup will be Philippines, Vanuatu, and Japan, though none come within 25 places of PNG’s 19^th place on the T20I rankings. And although their opposition may threaten an upset, the Barramundis should be confident of picking up the results required to make a second appearance at a T20 World Cup in 2024.