2025 World Cup: Explaining the second stage of the tournament
The tournament is already midway through the fifth day with teams jostling for position through the round-robin stage. On the horizon is the second stage of the competition where each of the divisions will split up and move towards the finals series. What's involved? We explain how the rest of the tournament will pan out.
Summary
Open Men
With 10 teams involved, the Open Men are in the process of playing a nine-match round-robin.
After the completion of the round-robin stage, the division will be split into two groups:
Cup Phase: Top four positions
Plate Phase: Bottom six positions
Cup Phase
The top four qualifying teams go through to the Cup phase and contest the semi-finals. This consists of:
Major Semi-Final - 1st vs 2nd
Minor Semi-Final - 3rd vs 4th
Preliminary Final - Loser of Major Semi-Final vs Winner of Minor Semi-Final.
Grand Final - Winner of Major Semi-Final vs Winner of Preliminary Final.
The winner of the Major Semi-Final advances directly into the Grand Final, whilst the loser of the Major Semi-Final will meet the winner of the Minor Semi-Final in the Preliminary Final. The loser of the Minor Semi-Final will exit the tournament.
The winner of the Preliminary Final will contest the Grand Final against the Major Semi-Final winner.
At this juncture of the tournament, Australia, New Zealand and India are strong contenders to make the Cup phase, with the fourth spot likely going to Sri Lanka or the UAE.
Plate Phase
The bottom six teams (5th to 10th) will go through to the Plate phase. Their finals series will consist of the following:
Plate Qualifier 1 - 7th vs 10th
Plate Qualifier 2 - 8th vs 9th
Plate Semi-Final 1 - 5th vs Winner of 8th/9th
Plate Semi-Final 2 - 6th vs Winner of 7th/10th
Plate Grand Final - Winner of Plate Semi-Final 1 vs Winner of Plate Semi-Final 2
The fifth-placed and sixth-placed teams will automatically qualify for the semi-finals, whilst the teams placed seventh through to tenth will play off for the right to play in the semi-finals against either of those teams.
The winners of the respective semi-finals will then meet in the Grand Final. One of the UAE or Sri Lanka could finish fifth, whilst England and South Africa will be battling it out for sixth.
Open Women
The majority of the Open Women’s have just one game remaining in their seven-match round-robin.
After the completion of the round-robin stage, the division will be split into two groups:
Cup Phase: Top four positions
Plate Phase: Bottom four positions
Cup Phase
The teams in the top four will earn the right to compete for the Cup in the following manner:
Second round-robin (three matches) - each teams plays each other once again
Top placed side advances directly to Grand Final
Preliminary Final - 2nd vs 3rd
Grand Final - 1st vs Winner of Preliminary Final
Each of the top four teams will play each other once more in a second mini round-robin. However, points from the first round-robin stage will be carried over to this second stage, so having as many points as possible is vital for each of the teams.
After the completion of the additional three rounds, the top placed side will advance directly to the Grand Final whilst the second and third placed sides will play off in the Preliminary Final, and fourth place will be eliminated from the competition.
Australia will finish first after this initial round-robin stage, with New Zealand, South Africa and England also joining them to compete for the Cup.
Plate Phase
The teams in the bottom four will compete for the Plate in the following manner:
Second round-robin (three matches) - each teams plays each other once again
5th placed side advances directly to Grand Final
Preliminary Final - 6th vs 7th
Grand Final - 5th vs Winner of Preliminary Final
Each of the bottom four teams will play each other once more in a second mini round-robin. As with the Cup phase, points from the first round-robin stage will be carried over to this second stage, so having as many points as possible is vital for each of the teams.
After the completion of the additional three rounds, the fifth placed side will advance directly to the Grand Final, whilst the sixth and seventh placed sides will play off in the Preliminary Final, and eighth place will be eliminated from the competition.
The UAE, Sri Lanka, India and Singapore will contest the Plate.
Under-22 Men
The Under-22 Men will be the first division to move into the second phase and their schedule will be very similar to the Open Women, given the number of teams in each of those divisions.
The round-robin stage having been completed, the division will now be split into two groups:
Cup Phase: Top four positions
Plate Phase: Bottom four positions
Cup Phase
Teams:
Australia (57 points)
South Africa (48)
New Zealand (43)
Sri Lanka (40)
The teams in the top four will earn the right to compete for the Cup in the following manner:
Second round-robin (three matches) - each teams plays each other once again
Top placed side advances directly to Grand Final
Preliminary Final - 2nd vs 3rd
Grand Final - 1st vs Winner of Preliminary Final
Each of the top four teams will play each other once more in a second mini round-robin. However, points from the first round-robin stage will be carried over to this second stage, so having as many points as possible is vital for each of the teams.
After the completion of the additional three rounds, the top placed side will advance directly to the Grand Final whilst the second and third placed sides will play off in the Preliminary Final, and fourth place will be eliminated from the competition.
Australia is in pole position with 57 points, and are well-placed to finish in either of the top two spots to qualify for the Grand Final. South Africa are a further nine points back, and New Zealand 14 and Sri Lanka 18, so there is a lot to play for in this second stage.
Plate Phase
Teams:
England (21 points)
UAE (16)
Sri Lanka Development (10)
India (1)
The teams in the bottom four will compete for the Plate in the following manner:
Second round-robin (three matches) - each teams plays each other once again
5th placed side advances directly to Grand Final
Preliminary Final - 6th vs 7th
Grand Final - 5th vs Winner of Preliminary Final
Each of the bottom four teams will play each other once more in a second mini round-robin. As with the Cup phase, points from the first round-robin stage will be carried over to this second stage, so having as many points as possible is vital for each of the teams.
After the completion of the additional three rounds, the fifth placed side will advance directly to the Grand Final, whilst the sixth and seventh placed sides will play off in the Preliminary Final, and eighth place will be eliminated from the competition.
England and the UAE remain in a good position to make the final, whilst Sri Lanka Development will need to upset either of those two sides to have a chance.
Under-22 Women
With India having pulled out of the tournament before it started, the division has five teams who are currently contesting a triple round-robin consisting of 12 matches.
After the completion of the round-robin, the finals series will take place in the following manner:
Cup Finals
The team that finishes first will qualify directly for the Grand Final.
The teams which finish second and third will play off in the Preliminary Final, with the winner advancing to play the top placed team in the Grand Final.
Plate Final
The teams that finish fifth and sixth will contest the Plate Grand Final.
With three matches remaining in the round-robin phase, unbeaten New Zealand are on track to be the side that enters the Grand Final, whilst Australia could meet either the UAE or England in the Preliminary Final. The third clash between New Zealand and Australia will prove critical to who finishes in top place.
It appears likely that England or the UAE will meet Sri Lanka in the Plate Grand Final.
Image: U-Pro Indoor Cricket
