Guide

How Many Countries in the World Play Cricket?

The ICC currently has 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members.

Umaima Saeed
Umaima Saeed

Last Updated: 2024-09-30

Subhayan Dutta

5 minutes read

Indian team with the trophy

Indian team with the trophy//Getty Images

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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

CountryTeamsGoverning BodyFull Member SinceTest Status SinceRegion
AfghanistanMen Women U19Afghanistan Cricket Board22 June 201714 June 2018Asia
AustraliaMen Women U19Cricket Australia15 June 190915 March 1877East Asia-Pacific
BangladeshMen Women U19Bangladesh Cricket Board26 June 200010 November 2000Asia
EnglandMen Women U19England and Wales Cricket Board15 June 190915 March 1877Europe
IndiaMen Women U19Board of Control for Cricket in India31 May 192625 June 1932Asia
IrelandMen Women U19Cricket Ireland22 June 201711 May 2018Europe
New ZealandMen Women U19New Zealand Cricket31 May 192610 January 1930East Asia-Pacific
PakistanMen Women U19Pakistan Cricket Board28 July 195216 October 1952Asia
South AfricaMen Women U19Cricket South Africa15 June 190912 March 1889Africa
Sri LankaMen Women U19Sri Lanka Cricket21 July 198117 February 1982Asia
West IndiesMen Women U19Cricket West Indies31 May 192623 June 1928Americas
ZimbabweMen Women U19Zimbabwe Cricket6 July 199218 October 1992Africa
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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

TeamGoverning BodyODI Status SinceRegion
CanadaCricket Canada2023Americas
NamibiaCricket Namibia2019Africa
NepalCricket Association of Nepal2018Asia
NetherlandsRoyal Dutch Cricket Association2018Europe
OmanOman Cricket2019Asia
ScotlandCricket Scotland2018Europe
United Arab EmiratesEmirates Cricket Board2018Asia
United StatesUSA Cricket2019Americas

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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FAQs

How many countries play the Cricket World Cup?

Over the years, a total of 20 teams have participated in the 13 editions of the Cricket World Cup, with 10 teams competing in the recent 2023 tournament. 

How many countries play international cricket?

There are 108 countries which are members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), including 12 full members and 96 associate members.

How many European countries play cricket?

Around 33 European countries play cricket, including Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Scotland, Netherlands, Hungary, and Serbia. 

How many Asian countries play cricket?

Several Asian countries play cricket, but only India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Afghanistan are full members of the ICC.

Umaima Saeed
Umaima SaeedSports Writer

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.