ICC Event Technical Committee Rule on Super Six Qualification Criteria

The ICC Event Technical Committee met in Johannesburg yesterday evening, to adjudicate on applications put forward by the Kenyan and Sri Lankan teams, on the interpretation of the tournament Playing Conditions covering criteria for qualification to the Super Six stage.

The Kenyan application requested that the Technical Committee penalise New Zealand for what it regarded as a lost opportunity for Kenya to improve its net run rate. The Technical Committee unanimously ruled that the Playing Conditions cannot be altered retrospectively, to specifically address the deemed result of the cancelled game.

Sri Lanka's application centred on the interpretation of tournament Playing Condition 21.9.1, which covers the qualification criteria for the Super Six stage, in the event of more than two teams finishing the Group stage matches on equal points. These criteria are:

21.9.1 Group Matches

In the event of teams finishing on equal points in either Group, the right to play in the Super Six stage will be decided in the following order of priority:

When more than two teams have equal points and equal wins, the team which was the winner of most number of matches played between those teams will be placed in the higher position.

The Technical Committee confirmed that the proper interpretation of the Playing Condition should be as follows:

1. Where more than two teams have equal points and equal wins, (the "tied teams") then the appropriate priority principle is that the team or teams which won the most number of matches played between the tied teams will be placed in the higher position and will play the Super Six stage.

2. Where, after application of this priority principle, there is still one or more place/s remaining for the Super Six stage then the next priority principle applies, namely that of higher net run rate, or failing that, the higher number of wickets taken per ball in the Group Matches, or failing that, by lot.

3. Clause 21.9.1 does not allow for any change in its stated order of priority once it has been applied to the initial situation. Hence if the first applicable priority relates to a situation in which more than two teams have equal points and equal wins then there is no room at any stage of the selection process to revert to a priority principle which was initially inapplicable and which would have applied if, at the outset, there had only been two teams with equal points and equal wins.

This is the way in which the clause must be read in regulating the selection process to the possible situation envisaged. One of the reasons for this is that any reversion as suggested would operate unfairly and inconsistently, since teams which have already gone through on the basis of most wins may have done so at the expense of others who won against them.

On this basis, the Technical Committee did not uphold Sri Lanka's request. Sri Lanka now has until 11:00 hours today, Sunday 2 March, Johannesburg time, to decide if it will lodge an Appeal against the decision.

The ICC Event Technical Committee comprised Chairman David Richardson, Dr Ali Bacher, Campbell Jamieson of IDI, Brian Basson for the UCBSA and Michael Holding, as an independent member. The ICC was advised by Senior Counsel, Michael Kuper.

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