How Many Countries in the World Play Cricket?
The ICC currently has 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), initially established as the Imperial Cricket Conference on 15 June 1909 at Lord's, is the global governing body of the game. Its founding members were Australia, England, and South Africa. In the early years, only Commonwealth countries could become members of the Imperial Cricket Conference.
India, New Zealand, and the West Indies joined in 1926, while Pakistan became a member in 1953 after India's partition.
In 1965, the governing body changed its name to the International Cricket Conference. This change also allowed countries outside the Commonwealth to join. That year, Fiji and the USA became the first associate members of the governing body.
As of 2024, the ICC has 108 members, with 12 full members and 96 associate members. Of these, 8 associate members have been given One Day International status.
A List Of The Full Members Of The ICC
Country | Teams | Governing Body | Full Member Since | Test Status Since | Region |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | Men Women U19 | Afghanistan Cricket Board | 22 June 2017 | 14 June 2018 | Asia |
Australia | Men Women U19 | Cricket Australia | 15 June 1909 | 15 March 1877 | East Asia-Pacific |
Bangladesh | Men Women U19 | Bangladesh Cricket Board | 26 June 2000 | 10 November 2000 | Asia |
England | Men Women U19 | England and Wales Cricket Board | 15 June 1909 | 15 March 1877 | Europe |
India | Men Women U19 | Board of Control for Cricket in India | 31 May 1926 | 25 June 1932 | Asia |
Ireland | Men Women U19 | Cricket Ireland | 22 June 2017 | 11 May 2018 | Europe |
New Zealand | Men Women U19 | New Zealand Cricket | 31 May 1926 | 10 January 1930 | East Asia-Pacific |
Pakistan | Men Women U19 | Pakistan Cricket Board | 28 July 1952 | 16 October 1952 | Asia |
South Africa | Men Women U19 | Cricket South Africa | 15 June 1909 | 12 March 1889 | Africa |
Sri Lanka | Men Women U19 | Sri Lanka Cricket | 21 July 1981 | 17 February 1982 | Asia |
West Indies | Men Women U19 | Cricket West Indies | 31 May 1926 | 23 June 1928 | Americas |
Zimbabwe | Men Women U19 | Zimbabwe Cricket | 6 July 1992 | 18 October 1992 | Africa |
Full Members of the ICC
Full members of the ICC are the organizations responsible for managing cricket in a specific country or region.
These full members have the authority to send their teams to compete in official Test matches. They also have full voting rights in ICC meetings and automatically qualify to participate in ODIs and T20Is.
At present, there are 12 full members in the ICC. In April 2021, the ICC gave permanent Test status to the women's teams of all full member nations.
Australia, England, and South Africa were the first full members, all joining on 15 June 1909. Australia and England played the first Test match in 1877, while South Africa earned Test status in 1889. India, New Zealand, and the West Indies became members on 31 May 1926.
India's Test debut came in 1932, New Zealand’s in 1930, and the West Indies’ in 1928. Pakistan followed on 28 July 1952, playing its first Test in October of the same year.
Sri Lanka joined on 21 July 1981, gaining Test status the following year. Zimbabwe became a full member on 6 July 1992, playing its first Test in October 1992. Bangladesh, the latest Asian entrant before the 21st century, joined in June 2000. In 2017, Afghanistan and Ireland became full members, with Afghanistan playing its first Test in 2018 and Ireland just a few months earlier.
Associate Members
Associate members are countries where cricket is well-established, but they don't qualify for full membership in the ICC. There are 96 associate members in total.
Before 2019, all associate members could participate in the World Cricket League, which was a series of international one-day matches managed by the ICC. However, from 2019 onwards, this was replaced by two new leagues: the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 and the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League. Additionally, there are ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier tournaments, which serve as a pathway for teams aiming to qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Until April 2018, only teams that qualified through these events were given T20I status. But in April 2018, the ICC granted T20I status to all its members, starting on 1 July 2018 for women's teams and on 1 January 2019 for men's teams.
Associate members with ODI status
Team | Governing Body | ODI Status Since | Region |
---|---|---|---|
Canada | Cricket Canada | 2023 | Americas |
Namibia | Cricket Namibia | 2019 | Africa |
Nepal | Cricket Association of Nepal | 2018 | Asia |
Netherlands | Royal Dutch Cricket Association | 2018 | Europe |
Oman | Oman Cricket | 2019 | Asia |
Scotland | Cricket Scotland | 2018 | Europe |
United Arab Emirates | Emirates Cricket Board | 2018 | Asia |
United States | USA Cricket | 2019 | Americas |
Associate members could earn ODI status by performing well in the World Cricket League. However, in 2019, the World Cricket League was scrapped. Now, only teams competing in the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League and ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 can gain ODI status. Currently, eight Associate Members hold the ODI status.
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Umaima Saeed is a professional sports writer whose articles have been featured in several leading websites. She writes long-form content on sports, particularly cricket. She has a penchant for telling human-interest stories. Umaima has contributed articles on cricket to more than a dozen publications, both in print and online.