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Which teams can qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2023

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1 year ago

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Sri Lanka have confirmed their place at the Cricket World Cup with a win over Zimbabwe, to leave two teams competing for the last remaining spot at the showpiece event in India later this year.

The 1996 Cricket World Cup champions Sri Lanka booked their spot at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 with an emphatic win over Zimbabwe, as they extended their unbeaten run at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier and moved to eight points on the Super Six standings.

Zimbabwe, who looked certain to finish in the top two, crashed out of the Qualifier after two consecutive losses at the hands of Sri Lanka and Scotland. It’s now a two-horse race between Scotland and Netherlands for the final spot, with their clash on Thursday, 6 July deciding their World Cup fate.

Only the top two teams at the end of the Super Six stage will qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.

West Indies will not be among those qualifiers, after the two-time Cricket World Cup champions carried zero points into the Super Six stage then crashed out with a crushing defeat to Scotland.

Here is what each team needs to do to qualify for the Cricket World Cup:

1. Sri Lanka – QUALIFIED

Super Six played: 4
Super Six won: 4 (Oman, Scotland, Netherlands, Zimbabwe)
Super Six points: 8
Net run-rate: +1.817
Still to play: West Indies (7 July)

Sri Lanka have been in ominous form throughout the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, limiting each of their opponents so far to totals under 200 runs during their unbeaten run.

Even the clash with the previously undefeated Zimbabwe proved to be a one-sided affair as Sri Lanka cruised to an easy nine-wicket triumph. This win ensures that Sri Lanka will remain among the top two sides in the Super Six stage, and therefore qualify for the showpiece event in India.

2. Scotland

Super Six played: 4
Super Six won: 2 (Oman, West Indies, Zimbabwe)
Super Six points: 6
Net run-rate: +0.296
Still to play: Netherlands (6 July)

Scotland gave their qualification hopes a huge boost with a commanding victory over the West Indies, while effectively knocking out the two-time Cricket World Cup champions at the same time.

They followed that up with a massive win over hosts Zimbabwe to keep their Qualifier hopes alive.

A loss to the rampant Sri Lanka in the group stage might have proved costly for Scotland, but it is the Asian side’s win over Zimbabwe which has now reignited their hopes. That result puts Scotland’s qualification hopes in their own hands, thanks to their superior net run rate at this stage. A victory over Netherlands in their final game on Thursday will help them punch their tickets to India.

Likelihood of qualification: Great

3. Zimbabwe

Super Six played: 5
Super Six won: 3 (Netherlands, West Indies, Oman)
Super Six points: 6
Net run-rate: -0.099
Still to play: N/A

Two games ago, Zimbabwe were seen as one of the favourites to finish in the top two of the Qualifier alongside Sri Lanka. Two games later, in heartbreaking fashion, they crashed out of the tournament after consecutive losses against Sri Lanka and Scotland.

The hosts kicked off the Super Six stage as the tournament pacesetters alongside Sri Lanka, with the teams sharing identical win-loss records until their high-stakes clash. However, a nine-wicket loss against Sri Lanka not only dented their confidence but also their net run rate.

Zimbabwe still had their fate in their own hands but Scotland bowlers brought their A-game to the do-or-die match as the hosts slumped to a 31-run loss that saw them crash out of the Qualifier.

This loss means that Zimbabwe will be missing out on their second consecutive World Cup after missing out in 2019.

Likelihood of qualification: None

4. Netherlands

Super Six played: 4
Super Six won: 2 (West Indies, Oman)
Super Six points: 4
Net run-rate: -0.042
Still to play: Scotland (6 July)

Netherlands surged into the Super Six stage with a stirring Super Over victory over the West Indies, and also gave both Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka a scare with some brilliant batting.

Those honourable losses to the tournament standouts still look set to cost Netherlands dearly, as even a victory over Scotland in their remaining Super Six match is unlikely to lift them into a top-two spot.

There is still hope for Netherlands but they would need to defeat Scotland by a significant margin to boost their lowly net run-rate.

But the Netherlands have already shown at this Cricket World Cup Qualifier that it would be foolhardy to write them off too early.

Likelihood of qualification: Low

5. West Indies

Super Six played: 3
Super Six won: 0
Super Six points: 0
Net run-rate: -0.510
Still to play: Oman (5 July), Sri Lanka (7 July)

The two-time Cricket World Cup champions will not be part of the showpiece event for the very first time after a devastating loss to Scotland ended their qualification hopes.

West Indies carried zero points into the Super Six stage after Netherlands snatched a thrilling victory from them in a Super Over during the group stage, while they also ran out of wickets in a competitive chase against Zimbabwe.

The Caribbean outfit will want to save face against Oman and perhaps shake up the final Super Six standings against Sri Lanka, but will otherwise have to turn their focus to what went wrong and how to turn it around.

Likelihood of qualification: None 

6. Oman

Super Six played: 4
Super Six won: 0
Super Six points: 0
Net run-rate: -2.072
Still to play: West Indies (5 July)

Oman kicked off their tournament with a pair of rousing triumphs over Ireland and UAE, but arguably impressed even more when giving Zimbabwe a scare while chasing 332 in the Super Six opener.

The Asia nation will now be out to claim one more victory to finish their encouraging campaign on a high, although a spot in the Cricket World Cup is already out of reach.

Likelihood of qualification: None

(ICC)

 


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England face Australia in the battle of champions

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6 months ago

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2024/06/8

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Jos Buttler has Jofra Archer back to bolster the England bowling attack [Cricinfo]

The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.

Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.

The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.

Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh  would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.

Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.

Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.

Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.

Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.

England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook,  Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid,  Reece Topley/Mark Wood

[Cricinfo]

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South Africa up against their bogey team in batter-unfriendly New York

Published

6 months ago

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2024/06/8

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Paul van Meekeren with Sybrand Engelbrecht after Netherlands' win over South Africa in the 2023 ODI World Cup [ICC]

Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.

To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.

The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.

Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka,  where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.

But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.

Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller,  Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada,  Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje

Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.

Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht,  Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede,  Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle,  Paul van Meekeren,  Vivian Kingma

[Cricinfo]

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Mustafizur, Rishad, Hridoy dazzle in Bangladesh’s tight two-wicket win over Sri Lanka

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6 months ago

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2024/06/8

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Mahmudullah's unbeaten 16 proved crucial as Bangladesh lost late wickets [ICC]

Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.

However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.

But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.

Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.

Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11,  Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman  3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets

[Cricinfo]

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