London, May 24 -- All the usual suspects have gathered for the World Cup at the home of cricket, and yet something is missing.

The rest of the world.

When the first ball is bowled at The Oval on Thursday, only 10 teams will be vying to be world champion, the smallest number since 1992.

After the hugely popular, successful, and entertaining 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the format was slashed from 14 teams to 10. Qualifying was a prize for only two teams. No Associate members qualified.

So, no Zimbabwe for the first time in 36 years. No Ireland for the first time in 12. No other recent competitors such as Scotland, Kenya, Netherlands, or Canada.

Yes, more often than not those teams were fodder for the big guns, but they...