Scotland and the Netherlands have criticised the restructuring of next year's 50-over World Cup, saying the changes risk weakening the integrity and credibility of international cricket.

At last month's board meeting in Edinburgh, the ICC announced the main part of the tournament in southern Africa will contain a dozen teams split into two groups of six. There will still be 14 participants, but the tournament is slated to start with a preliminary round involving the three lowest‑ranked qualifiers, with only one team progressing to the group stage. A qualifying tournament will run from February 22 to March 23 next year, with the winner going through to the main tournament and the second, third and fourth placed teams entering the first round.

In a joint statement, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB) said they were "deeply disappointed" by the ICC's decision, announced less than 18 months before the tournament is due to start. They warned that reducing meaningful opportunities for emerging nations sends the wrong message.

Scotland and the Netherlands are currently 13th and 14th respectively in the men's ODI rankings. The statement says the members are "fully committed to working constructively" with the ICC to strengthen the global game.