Official explanation of which teams progress in the event of more than two sides being level on points

Clause 21.9.1 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 Playing Conditions reads as follows:

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 criteria should be followed in chronological order from top to bottom. It is not the intention that if a differentiation is made between 3 or more teams on the basis of one criterion, leaving 2 teams still equal, that you should then revert back to a criterion higher on the list.

For the avoidance of doubt the Event Technical Committee has explained the interpretation of this clause in the following scenarios:

Teams A, B and C all finish equal on points.
All have the same number of wins.
All have the same number of wins in the matches between each other, A having beaten C, B having beaten A and C having beaten B.
Team A has the highest run rate, followed by B and C.

In this scenario, net run rate will be the factor which determines the placings of all three. A would accordingly finish first, B second and C third.

The same rules apply in the following even more complicated scenario:

Teams A, B, C and D all finish equal on points.
All have the same number of wins.
In the matches against each other, Teams A and B have 2 wins and 1 loss each and Teams C and D both have 1 win and 2 losses.
Team A has the highest run rate followed by D, B and C in that order.

In such an instance the following criterion will firstly be applied:

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

Thus A and B will be placed above Teams C and D.

As however teams A and B are still equal the next criterion, that of net run rate, must then come into play (as opposed to who beat who), to determine who finishes higher. As Team A's run rate was higher than Team B's, Team A finish top and Team B second.

Similarly, as Teams C and D are still equal the next criterion, that of net run rate, must then also be used (as opposed to who beat who) to determine who finished higher as between C and D. In our example it would be Team D third and Team C fourth.

For the purpose of the group stage, a team's net run rate is calculated by deducting from the average runs per over scored by that team throughout the group matches, the average runs per over scored against that team throughout the group matches.

In the event of a team being all out in less than its full quota of overs, the calculation of its net run rate shall be based on the full quota of overs to which it would have been entitled and not on the number of overs in which the team was dismissed.

Only those matches where results are achieved will count for the purpose of net run rate calculations. Where a match is abandoned, but a result is achieved under Duckworth/Lewis, for net run rate purposes Team 1 will be accredited with Team 2's Par Score on abandonment off the same number of overs faced by Team 2. Where a match is concluded but with Duckworth/Lewis having been applied at an earlier point in the match, Team 1 will be accredited with 1 run less that the final Target Score for Team 2 off the total number of overs allocated to Team 2 to reach the target.

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