West Indies failed to qualify for the 2023 Cricket World Cup after appearing in every previous edition. The omission ended a run stretching back to the inaugural 1975 tournament.
The West Indies, then representing a powerful Caribbean cricketing side, won the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979. They also reached the final in 1983, but by 2023 qualification was decided through a demanding route involving the Cricket World Cup Super League and a qualifier tournament.
Their decisive setback came against Scotland in the qualifier in Zimbabwe on 1 July 2023. The defeat meant West Indies could not reach the required qualification places. Ireland and Zimbabwe also missed the finals, but neither had appeared in every previous World Cup.
This was therefore more than a routine absence: the 2023 tournament became the first World Cup without a former champion. The competition included 10 teams, with Sri Lanka earning one of the final qualification places alongside the Netherlands.