As the league stage draws to a close, the question in front of all the stake holders is how to make the World Cup more interesting.
I have always admired the resilience of the non-Test playing nations but barring a game or two, most of the battles involving them tend to be one-sided affairs.
The idea is to make the World Cup move forward and not stretch it to a point where it becomes dull and drab. Many formats have been tried and under the current one, matches in the league stage become irrelevant and the tournament actually starts only from the knockouts.
In my opinion the 1992 World Cup was the best format, let the best play against the best and the top four make the semis.
As in any major sport, the World Cup is the pinnacle and it must only be between the top-sides in the World. The ICC can take a cue out of the Champions League to ensure the associates get a fair chance to make the final cut.
The top eight teams (based on rankings) should qualify automatically. Once the cut off is reached the remaining two slots should go to the qualifiers. This will also ensure the exclusion of Test playing sides who have been found wanting on the big stage.
The remaining six sides (including the two Test teams) can play a qualifier just before the World Cup and the top two can join the eight sides to make it a 10-team tournament where each teams plays against each other once.
For the sake of motivation, the qualifiers should be given international status and the records should be counted towards the World Cup. These changes in my opinion will add a competitive tinge and also reduce three games from the itinerary thus making the event crisper.