The Sunday Mail
The Cricket World Cup Qualifier will see 10 teams meet in Zimbabwe for a shot at the last two spots at the Cricket World Cup 2023 – here is everything you need to know about the high-stakes event.
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifier will be held in Zimbabwe with the hosts joined by Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, Sri Lanka, UAE, USA and West Indies in a battle for the two remaining places at the showcase ODI event later this year.
The Cricket World Cup Qualifier starts on June 18 with two groups each made up of five teams playing a round-robin series within their group.
The top three teams in each group then progress to the CWC Qualifier Super Six stage, while carrying over their results from the two matches against the other teams to advance from their initial group.
The teams that progress to the Super Six stage will then play the three teams to advance from their opposite group to complete the pivotal match-ups.
The top two teams at the end of the Super Six stage will book their ticket to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India later this year, while also facing off in a CWC Qualifier Final on July 9.
The four teams that miss out on the Super Six stage will meet to decide the seventh to 10th places at the CWC Qualifier, and help make it 34 ODI matches across the event.
The CWC Qualifier is the finale of four years of tense ODI competition that brings together the bottom five teams from the ICC Men’s CWC Super League, three automatic qualifiers from the ICC Men’s CWC League Two, and two teams that qualified from the ICC Men’s CWC Qualifier Play-off.
The eight teams already qualified for the Cricket World Cup 2023 through the CWC Super League are the hosts India, as well as Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa
Cricket World Cup Qualifier dates
The Cricket World Cup Qualifier will be held in Zimbabwe from June 18 to July 9.
The group stage will be completed on June 27, with the top three teams in each group progressing to the Super Six stage.
The Super Six stage will then take place from June 29 to July 7, with the top two teams facing off in a CWC Qualifier Final on July 9 as well as progressing to the Cricket World Cup in India later in the year.
A playoff series to decide seventh to 10th-place in the CWC Qualifier will run from June 30 to July 6.
Cricket World Cup Qualifier teams
Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, Sri Lanka, UAE, USA, West Indies and Zimbabwe make up the 10 teams playing in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023.
Cricket World Cup Qualifier groups
Group A
– Netherlands
– Nepal
– United States
– West Indies
– Zimbabwe
Group B
– Ireland
– Oman
– Scotland
– Sri Lanka
– United Arab Emirates
Cricket World Cup Qualifier venues
The Cricket World Cup Qualifier will be held across four venues in Zimbabwe, with two each in the biggest cities of Harare and Bulawayo:
– Harare Sports Club, Harare
– Takashinga Cricket Club, Harare
– Queen’s Sports Club, Bulawayo
– Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
The Cricket World Cup Qualifier Final will be held at Harare Sports Club on July 9.
Cricket World Cup Qualifier format
The 10 teams have been split into two groups of five, where they will face each other in a round-robin group stage to each play four ODIs.
The winner of each match will be awarded two points; with a tie, no result or abandoned match resulting in one point each.
For the first time in a CWC Qualifier, the Decision Review System (DRS) will be available in all matches from the Super Six stage onwards.
Cricket World Cup Qualifier squads
Ireland
Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, PJ Moor, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young
Nepal
Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Gyanendra Malla, Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Bhim Sharki, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratish JC, Arjun Saud, Kishor Mahato
Netherlands
Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Logan van Beek, Vikram Singh, Aryan Dutt, Viv Kingma, Bas de Leede, Noah Croes, Ryan Klein, Teja Nidamanuru, Wesley Barresi, Shariz Ahmad, Clayton Floyd, Michael Levitt, Saqib Zulfiqar
Oman
Zeeshan Maqsood (c), Aqib Ilyas (vc), Jatinder Singh, Kashyap Prajapati, Shoaib Khan, Mohammed Nadeem, Sandeep Goud, Ayaan Khan, Suraj Kumar, Adeel Shafique, Naseem Khushi, Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Jay Odedra, Samay Shrivastav, Rafiullah
Scotland
Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Jack Jarvis, Michael Leask, Tom Mackintosh, Chris McBride, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Mark Watt
Sri Lanka
Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc & wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Dushan Hemantha
UAE
Mohammad Waseem (c), Ethan D’Souza, Ali Naseer, Vriitya Aravind, Rameez Shahzad, Jawadullah, Asif Khan, Rohan Mustafa, Aayan Khan, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan, Sanchit Sharma, Aryansh Sharma, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed
USA
Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones (vc), Abhishek Paradkar, Ali Khan, Gajanand Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Kyle Philip,Nisarg Patel, Nostush Kenjige, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shayan Jahangir, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Usman Rafiq
West Indies
Shai Hope (c), Rovman Powell (vc), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd
Zimbabwe
Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Craig Ervine, Bradley Evans, Joylord Gumbie, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams
Cricket World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Hosts Zimbabwe will feature on the opening match-day at Harare Sports Club against Nepal, who are aiming to qualify for the Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time.
Two-time Men’s Cricket World Cup champions West Indies will also be in action on June 18 against USA at Takashinga Cricket Club.
The 1996 World Cup Champions Sri Lanka will kick off Group B action with a clash against the UAE at Queen’s Sports Club on June 19, while Ireland will face Oman at Bulawayo Athletic Club that same day.
The Netherlands will open their campaign against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on June 20, while Scotland face rivals Ireland at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on June 21.
All 34 ODIs at the CWC Qualifier will start at 9am time in Zimbabwe. – ICC
