The 2019 Cricket World Cup is expected to feature just 10 teams after the possibility of keeping the previous 14-nation format was dismissed.
After associate member Ireland impressed at this year's tournament in Australia and New Zealand, there were calls for the ICC to change its plans for the next staging of the event in England.
However, the topic wasn't discussed during the ICC annual conference in Barbabos, meaning that associate members face a tougher task to qualify.
The criteria will see hosts England and the top seven teams in the one-day world rankings automatically qualify, while the remaining two places will be filled by the two finalists of a qualifying event in Bangladesh.
