Fixtures confirmed for Super Six Stage of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023

[WhenSultansBowled]

These are early days but I hope none of the SENA & BIPS pull an Italy and all of them play the upcoming world cup. You never know! (India are already qualified since they are hosting it)

Ranking	Team	Pld	W	L	NR	Ded	Pts	NRR
1	England	9	4	5	0	0	40	0.468
2	Pakistan	6	4	2	0	0	40	0.426
3	Australia	6	4	2	0	0	40	0.347
4	New Zealand	3	3	0	0	0	30	2.352
5	Afghanistan	3	3	0	0	0	30	0.527
6	Bangladesh	6	3	3	0	0	30	−0.128
7	West Indies	6	3	3	0	0	30	−0.876
8	India (Q)	6	3	3	0	1	29	−0.252
9	Zimbabwe	3	1	2	0	0	10	−0.741

[tr][td]10[/td][td] Ireland[/td][td]6[/td][td]1[/td][td]5[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]10[/td][td]−1.076[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]11[/td][td] South Africa[/td][td]3[/td][td]1[/td][td]2[/td][td]0[/td][td]1[/td][td]9[/td][td]−0.087[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]12[/td][td] Netherlands[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]0[/td][td]—[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]13[/td][td] Sri Lanka[/td][td]3[/td][td]0[/td][td]3[/td][td]0[/td][td]2[/td][td]−2[/td][td]−0.221[/td][/tr]

Updated to match(es) played on 7 April 2021. Source: ICC
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Notes:
India qualify automatically as hosts.
Bottom team from the Super League will be relegated to League 2 if they finish ranked below the champions of the 2019–23 League 2 in the 2023 Qualifier.
In the event that two or more teams have the same number of points, the following tie-breaking procedure is used:
1. The team that has won a greater number of matches will be placed higher.
2. If still equal, the team with the higher net run rate will be placed higher.
3. If still equal, the team that is ranked in the higher position in the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings on 1 July 2020 shall be placed higher.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Points and net run rate will be crucial.

If Pakistan can somehow win the ODI series in England 2-1, it will give us a great boost not just as a team, but also in terms of match experience.

We'd want to go into 2023 with a winning team so that we can genuinely compete and win it.

If the middle order situation gets sorted, I can see us doing well, but there is a glaring problem that I'm seeing in our fast-bowlers.

Shaheen, despite being perhaps one of the best fast bowlers we've produced in recent times, is not a good option in the death. His economy rate in the death is quite high, especially in T20s. In general, I don't think he bowls well with the old ball, and he needs to improve this right away. He's a world class powerplay bowler, but death bowling isn't really working for him as of yet.

I do see an option to bowl Shaheen in two four-over spells, one at the very beginning and the other four over spell somewhere in the middle with the solid objective of taking wickets. If Shaheen gets hit in the middle overs, it's less of a worry than in the death where mistakes can be costly. The way he's being used is not right in my mind, he's a wicket taker and so he should be given opportunities to take wickets instead of trying to keep things tidy at the back-end. He can bowl the final two overs in the death, but that's all in my opinion.

Haris Rauf either needs to be developed as a middle overs bowler or solely a death overs bowler. The new ball is not for him. Hasan Ali needs to get some rhythm and control, he cannot be going for over 7 in the powerplay in an ODI game. He's a middle overs bowler, so I think that we might need to use Faheem in the powerplay along with Shaheen. Faheem won't leak too many runs though he's not that likely to take a wicket, but it will keep pressure on the batsmen to try and take a gamble against Shaheen.

 

[Markhor]

Important that Pakistan qualify automatically. It would be embarrassing as a former WC holder to have to play qualifiers, but every team in the tournament will fight with their lives and we know how we've a tendency to wobble against lowly ranked teams (Bangladesh 1999, Ireland 2007, nearly losing to Canada, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in 2011, 2015 and 2019).

Out of all the major nations, think SL look the most vulnerable.

 

[hitthestump]

I see no issues with automatic qualification given our fixture list. Worst case scenario is that Pakistan shoe in a last minute series against a weak team like we did with the Windies prior to CT17.

 

[MenInG]

Just who finishes in eighth place on the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League standings and qualifies directly for this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup will be decided this week when Ireland take on Bangladesh in the final series of the current cycle.

South Africa narrowly cling on to eighth place at the moment, but the Proteas have already played their full quota of Super League fixtures and could still be usurped by Ireland and sent to the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe during June and July should results go against them.

The Proteas amassed a total of 98 points from their Super League fixtures and will hang on to the final direct qualification place unless Ireland can complete a clean sweep over Bangladesh in their three-match series that commences in Chelmsford on Tuesday.

Ireland are currently placed 11th in the standings with 68 points, but three wins over Bangladesh will see the European side draw level with South Africa on 98 points.

Picking up three victories may still not prove enough for Ireland though, with Andy Balbirnie's side needing to ensure they better their net run rate and avoid dropping penalty points if they are to nudge in front of South Africa.

Ireland are boosted by the return of star pacer Josh Little, who has been granted permission by the Gujarat Titans to take a short break from the Indian Premier League and play the three matches in England.

Little has six wickets from eight matches in his maiden appearance at the IPL this year and Gujarat director of cricket Vikram Solanki said the left-armer departs the franchise to join up with his international teammates with their best wishes.

"We wish Josh the best as he heads back to represent Ireland in the ODIs," Solanki said.

"He has had a good run in his first Indian Premier League and we look forward to welcoming him back once he finishes the ODI series."

Highlights: Ireland pacer Josh Little took 3/22 with a hat-trick against New Zealand at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022
Bangladesh are currently sitting in fourth place on the Super League standings and have already booked their place at this year's World Cup, although the Asian nation could yet overtake England and India and finish as high as second with three wins against Ireland.

Ireland squad: Andy Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young

Bangladesh squad: Tamim Iqbal (c), Litton Das, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury

Schedule:

9 May: 1st ODI, Chelmsford
12 May: 2nd ODI, Chelmsford
14 May: 3rd ODI, Chelmsford

 

[a_jawad]

We have to move South Africa out of " SENA " and make it " ENA " . They dont deserve to be clubbed with ENA anymore

 

[MenInG]

The first ODI between Ireland and Bangladesh in Chelmsford was abandoned after persistent rain, ending Ireland's hopes for automatic qualification to the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

Eight teams have made their entry to the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, with South Africa edging Ireland for the final spot after the latter's Super League clash against Bangladesh in Chelmsford ended in a washout on Tuesday.

The most recent changes in the race for automatic spots had come after Sri Lanka's unsuccessful series against New Zealand, and South Africa's two recent wins over the Netherlands in a home series.

Teams already qualified: India (hosts), New Zealand, England, Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Africa.

South Africa had given themselves every chance of qualifying automatically for this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in their final series against Netherlands at home. The series victory moved the Proteas past the West Indies and into the eighth and final spot on the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League standings.

But their chances for automatic qualification still hinged on Ireland's ODIs against Bangladesh. A 3-0 series victory for Ireland would have brought them level on points with South Africa, assuming they incurred no penalty points.

The net run rate would still have come into play to decide the final spot, but with Ireland's first ODI against Bangladesh abandoned, this is no longer a worry for the Proteas, who have now booked their spot in the World Cup.

Ireland, meanwhile, will have to play the Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June.

Cricket World Cup Qualifier Teams: 10 (West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Oman, Nepal, USA, UAE).

Zimbabwe and Netherlands finished bottom of the Super League table and will head straight to the Qualifier. Scotland, Oman and Nepal finished in the top three of League 2 and booked their place in the World Cup Qualifier.

Nepal finished top three in dramatic fashion, winning 11 of their last 12 matches, overtaking Namibia to finish third in an incredible comeback story.

After disappointing League 2 campaigns, USA and UAE bounced back in the Qualifier Play-off in April, ensuring their top-two finishes on the penultimate day of the competition.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/3330819

 

[MenInG]

Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie knows just how important the hectic upcoming schedule is for his side as they attempt to qualify for two major ICC tournaments.

While Ireland are currently in England for the final match of their three-game ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League campaign against Bangladesh, their attention will quickly turn to a one-off Test match against a fierce rival at The Home of Cricket and qualifying for the next two major ICC events.

Ireland take on England in a one-off Test at Lord's next month - a venue Balbirnie freely admits that many of his teammates have never played at - before the European side travel to Zimbabwe for the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier to be closely followed by the 2023 ICC T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final in Scotland that provides direct entry to the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

The Path to the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World CupThe Path to the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup
Ireland require a top-two finish at both ICC tournaments to earn a place in the event directly and Balbirnie knows how important these upcoming fixtures are for his side.

"I don't want to look too far ahead but, naturally that 50-over qualifier and T20 qualifier post-Zimbabwe are the two most important schedules in our calendar at the moment," Balbirnie said.

"But we want to enjoy ourselves. We want to enjoy the challenges that are coming over the next few weeks and hopefully we can embrace them and play a certain way that people want to watch us."

The Test against England is also a boon for Balbirnie and Ireland, with the match to be the fourth five-day contest that the Irish have contested this year following one Test against Bangladesh and two against Sri Lanka.

"It's very exciting for a number of us who haven't played at Lord's," Balbirnie said.

"But it's a special event in the English cricket calendar, never mind our own calendar. So we're very fortunate and privileged to be able to play there.

"We know the type of cricket England are playing is amazing to watch, so it'll be nice to come up against it and try to find our own way of competing against it. Hopefully we can play good cricket and try to match them as best we can."

One player who will be crucial for Ireland in all those upcoming matches is young batter Harry Tector, with the 23-year-old fresh from a career-high140 against Bangladesh in their ongoing ODI series in Chelmsford.

Balbirnie said Tector's innings was the best ODI knock he has ever seen from an Ireland player and knows how pivotal the in-form right-hander is for his side.

"His performances in the last 12 to 18 months have been so good for us, and particularly in 50-over cricket," Balbirnie said of Tector.

"I think that was as good a knock as I've seen in Irish colours for a 50-over game. He's just got all the attributes to go on and be one of the greats of Irish cricket and I hope that we can help him on his way, and he continues to put in scores for us. The more runs he gets for us, the better place we're going to be."

ICC

 

[MenInG]

Bangladesh's narrow victory over Ireland in Chelmsford on Sunday has seen the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League come to a completion, with New Zealand crowned the overall winners of the inaugural competition.

The Super League was used as the main qualifying competition for this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and the top eight teams at the end of the cycle managed to earn their places at this year's 50-over showcase.

New Zealand booked their place and finished on top of the standings courtesy of their 16 victories from 24 matches, while reigning World Cup champions England were second with 15 wins from the same amount of games.

Bangladesh rose to third and narrowly in front of fourth-placed India due to their 2-0 series triumph over Ireland, with their four-run victory over the European side on Sunday the final game of the Super League cycle.

Skipper Tamim Iqbal top-scored for Bangladesh with a stylish 69 at the top of the order and a four-wicket haul from pacer Mustafizur Rahman saw Ireland fall narrowly short from pulling off a series-levelling victory.

Ireland already knew their World Cup fate prior to Sunday's clash, with Andy Balbirnie's side finishing outside the top eight places on the Super league standings and forced into the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe during June and July to try and earn a spot at this year's main event.

Pakistan (fifth), Australia (sixth), Afghanistan (seventh) and South Africa (eight) were the other teams to qualify directly for the World Cup on the back of the Super League, leaving West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the Netherland as teams joining Ireland in the Qualifier tournament that commences next month.

Those five bottom teams from the Super League will now take on five other nations at the Qualifier, with Nepal, Oman and Scotland earning their place through ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 action and the United States and UAE punching their ticket via the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off.

The Qualifier commences in Zimbabwe on June 18, with the top two teams claiming the final places at this year's World Cup.

ICC

 

[MenInG]

Two-time winners the West Indies and 1996 champions Sri Lanka have been drawn in opposing groups for the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier that will take place in Zimbabwe between June 18 and July 9.

The ICC revealed the fixture for the crucial three-week tournament on Tuesday, with the West Indies drawn in Group A alongside tournament hosts Zimbabwe, European side the Netherlands, emerging Asian nation Nepal and the ever-improving USA.

Shai Hope's charges will need to be at their best if they are to book a spot at this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, with only the top-two sides from the 10-team tournament earning a ticket to the 50-over showcase in India at the end of the year.

Zimbabwe and the Netherlands will be familiar opponents for the West Indies with those three teams all progressing to the Qualifier courtesy of their finishing position during the inaugural ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League, while Nepal and the USA earnt their spot via League 2 play and the recent Qualifier Play-off respectively.

Sri Lanka also face daunting opponents in Group B in Zimbabwe, with the island nation scheduled to play matches against Ireland, Scotland, Oman and the UAE.

Sri Lanka finished in 10th place on the Super League standings - one spot behind the West Indies - and will be looking for a top-two finish in Zimbabwe to ensure they maintain their excellent record of having participated in each edition of the World Cup.

Groups for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023Groups for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023

The West Indies too have been to all 12 editions of the World Cup, while Zimbabwe are the next most successful side at the qualifier having participated in nine tournaments to date.

Nepal, USA and Oman have never made it through to the World Cup and will be looking to book their first appearance via a top-two finish at the qualifier.

ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice believes the 10 teams in Zimbabwe are very evenly matched and is looking forward to a tight contest between all sides.

“The countdown to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is entering the final stages and this event presents an incredible opportunity for teams to earn a place in the pinnacle event of one day cricket. The stakes don’t get any bigger in what will be a very competitive event enjoyed by fans looking to see who will join the eight teams that have already booked their tickets to India," Allardice said.

“With two former Men’s Cricket World Cup champions among the contenders as well as emerging cricket nations who are aiming to qualify for the first time, this unique event, featuring teams from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe will be a showcase of the global game.”

Each team will play four matches during the group stage of the qualifier, with the top three sides from each group then progressing through to the Super Six stage.

All points won in the groups will be carried over to the Super Six stage apart from those gained against the bottom two from each group.

Teams will then play a further three matches against sides from the opposing group during the Super Six stage, with the top two teams at the completion of the Super Six stage earning a place in the World Cup and the qualifier final in Harare on July 9.

Qualifier Fixtures (All matches start at 9:00am local time)

Sunday, 18 June
Zimbabwe v Nepal, Harare Sports Club
West Indies v USA, Takashinga Cricket Club

Monday, 19 June
Sri Lanka v UAE, Queen’s Sports Club
Ireland v Oman, Bulawayo Athletic Club

Tuesday, 20 June
Zimbabwe v Netherlands, Harare Sports Club
Nepal v USA, Takashinga Cricket Club

Wednesday, 21 June
Ireland v Scotland, Queen’s Sports Club
Oman v UAE, Bulawayo Athletic Club

Thursday, 22 June
West Indies v Nepal, Harare Sports Club
Netherlands v USA, Takashinga Cricket Club

Friday, 23 June
Sri Lanka v Oman, Queen’s Sports Club
Scotland v UAE, Bulawayo Athletic Club

Saturday, 24 June
Zimbabwe v West Indies, Harare Sports Club
Netherlands v Nepal, Takashinga Cricket Club

Sunday, 25 June
Sri Lanka v Ireland, Queen’s Sports Club
Scotland v Oman, Bulawayo Athletic Club

Monday, 26 June
Zimbabwe v USA, Harare Sports Club
West Indies v Netherlands, Takashinga Cricket Club

Tuesday, 27 June
Sri Lanka v Scotland, Queen’s Sports Club
Ireland v UAE, Bulawayo Athletic Club

Thursday, 29 June
Super 6: A2 v B2, Queen’s Sports Club

Friday, 30 June
Super 6: A3 v B1, Queen’s Sports Club
Playoff: A5 v B4, Takashinga Cricket Club

Saturday, 1 July
Super 6: A1 v B3, Harare Sports Club

Sunday, 2 July
Super 6: A2 v B1, Queen’s Sports Club
Playoff: A4 v B5, Takashinga Cricket Club

Monday, 3 July
Super 6: A3 v B2, Harare Sports Club

Tuesday, 4 July
Super 6: A2 v B3, Queen’s Sports Club
Playoff: 7th v 8th Takashinga Cricket Club

Wednesday, 5 July
Super Six: A1 v B2, Harare Sports Club

Thursday, 6 July
Super Six: A3 v B3, Queen’s Sports Club
Playoff: 9th v 10th Takashinga Cricket Club

Friday, 07 July
Super Six: A1 v B1, Harare Sports Club

Sunday, 09 July
Final, Harare Sports Club

ICC

 

[Babeikh]

Fancy Zimbabwe going through with one of WI or SL missing out on the world cup

 

[sam_ahm]

We could have had a seperate thread for this tbh. It's a proper tournament andna very important one.

The competition will be close. I can't predict, it will be very close amongst SL, WI, ZIM and IRE. Zimbabwe are the inform team and hav le the home advantage, so they'll pose a big threat to SL, WI.

Netherlands and Scotland are missing some key players to county circuit.

Nepal to keep an eye on, they are doing well these days.

 

[light]

Fancy Zimbabwe going through with one of WI or SL missing out on the world cup

My money would be on WI missing out. Their selection is all over the place

 

[Saj]

West Indies, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka head into Qualifier undefeated


West Indies, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka went two from two in their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifier warm-up matches with comfortable victories over UAE, Scotland and USA respectively.

Netherlands and Nepal will also both enter the group stages on the back of victories, with the Netherlands overcoming Ireland while Nepal beat Oman.

Powell powers West Indies to win

Rovman Powell’s rapid century helped the West Indies regain composure after they slipped to 198-7 midway through their innings against UAE.

Nicholas Pooran’s 74 had helped the Windies to a commanding position before three wickets in nine balls saw his side stutter.

But Powell combined with Keemo Paul to put on 139 for the eighth wicket, the former eventually dismissed for 105 from just 55 balls as the Windies posted 374 for nine.

The UAE had a centurion of their own in the form of Basil Hameed, who batted valiantly to reach 122 not out as his side fell 114 runs short.

Yannic Cariah was again the star of the West Indies attack as he took four for 58 to back up his four-wicket haul in the first warm-up game.

Zimbabwe go two from two after dominant Scotland victory

Brandon McMullen fell one run short of a half-century as Scotland were bowled out for 163 having been put into bat by hosts Zimbabwe.

The right-hander put on an innings-high partnership of 47 runs with Matthew Cross for the second wicket before the latter was bowled by Brad Evans for 32.

McMullen was unable to build another partnership before he was dismissed by Ryan Burl for 49, with late cameos from Jack Jarvis (26) and Christopher McBride (20) pushing Scotland past 150.

In response, Zimbabwe chased the modest total down inside 25 overs with six wickets to spare.

Sikandar Raza top scored with 44 from 28 balls while Joylord Gumbie and Craig Ervine both made 37, with Micheal Leask’s two quick wickets only providing temporary resistance.

Karunaratne century sets up big win for Sri Lanka

Dimuth Karunaratne made a sparkling century as Sri Lanka posted 392 for five from their 50 overs against the USA.

Karunaratne was joined at the crease by Kusal Mendis in the seventh over with Sri Lanka 39 for one, before the pair combined for a 191-run partnership to power the Lions to a huge total.

Mendis departed for 105 from 91 before Karunaratne retired not out on 111 from 100 balls to leave time for strong middle-order striking from Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka, who added 112 for the fifth wicket.

After losing both openers for just 10 runs to begin their response, the USA rebuilt through Monank Patel who scored 68 before becoming one of three wickets in an over for Matheesha Pathirana to leave USA on 106 for seven.

Shayan Jahangir was left stranded on 63 not out as Usman Rafiq was run out with USA falling 198 runs short.

Barresi guides Netherlands to win

Ireland were bowled out for 193 in the 40th over with Harry Tector, who made a century against USA earlier in the week, one of seven players to score single figures against Netherlands as Scott Edward’s side shared the wickets around.

Lorcan Tucker rebuilt from 58 for five in the 20th over, helped by a quickfire 46 from 25 balls from Gareth Delany, who became Shariz Ahmad’s second wicket.

Tucker was stumped by Edwards for 74 off the bowling of Clayton Floyd before Craig Young fell three balls later to Saqib Zulfiqar to bring Ireland’s innings to a premature close.

Wesley Barresi’s 90 helped see the Netherlands home, with Barresi and Max O’Dowd putting on 89 for the second wicket, though Ireland did not go down without a fight.

Three balls after O’Dowd departed, Noah Croes was also dismissed by Ben White, who returned figures of five for 61 as Ireland reduced Netherlands to 114 for six in the 19th over.

Barresi was dismissed 10 runs short of a century but Aryan Dutt and Logan van Beek calmly knocked off the remaining runs to see the Netherlands home by two wickets.

Nepal hold on to defeat Oman

Captain Zeeshan Maqsood rescued Oman after they slipped to seven for four, going on to make a run-a-ball century.

Maqsood combined with Shoaib Khan to steady Oman, putting on 84 runs for the fifth wicket before compiling an 115-run partnership with Ayaan Khan.

The left-hander was dismissed for 109 as Sompal Kami struck twice in the penultimate over before Khan departed in the final over for 56, Kami claiming figures of five for 57 to leave Oman 267 all out.

In reply, Nepal made a strong start as opener Kushal Bhurtel scored 101 before retiring as he and Bhim Sharki added 115 runs for the second wicket.

With Nepal needing just one run to win, Oman hit back with three quick wickets as Aqib Ilyas took four for 42 before Sandeep Lamichhane hit a six from his first ball to secure the win.

Scores in brief

West Indies beat UAE at Takashinga, Harare by 114 runs

West Indies 374/9 in 50 overs (Rovman Powell 105, Nicholas Pooran 74; Muhammad Jawadullah 3/50, Karthik Meiyappan 2/51)

UAE 260/9 in 50 overs (Basil Hameed 122 not out, Vriitya Aravind 54; Yannic Cariah 4/58, Jason Holder 2/26)

Zimbabwe beat Scotland at Old Hararians, Harare by six wickets

Scotland 163 all out in 38.2 overs (Brandon McMullen 49, Matt Cross 32; Sean Williams 2/14, Luke Jongwe 2/17)

Zimbabwe 166/4 in 24.5 overs (Sikandar Raza 44, Joylord Gumbie 37; Michael Leask 2/30, Chris Greaves 1/24)

Sri Lanka beat USA at Bulawayo Athletics Club, Bulawayo by 198 runs

Sri Lanka 392/5 in 50 overs (Dimuth Karunaratne 111 not out, Kusal Mendis 105; Saurabh Netravalkar 2/60, Usman Rafiq 1/57)

USA 194 all out in 33.2 overs (Monank Patel 68, Shayan Jahangir 63 not out; Matheesha Pathirana 4/23, Kasun Rajitha 2/28)

Netherlands beat Ireland at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo by two wickets

Ireland 193 all out in 39.2 overs (Lorcan Tucker 74, Gareth Delany 46; Logan van Beek 2/23, Aryan Dutt 2/27)

Netherlands 196/8 in 37.3 overs (Wesley Barresi 90, Max O’Dowd 35; Ben White 5/61, Harry Tector 1/6)

Nepal beat Oman at Harare Sports Club, Harare by three wickets

Oman 267 all out in 49.2 overs (Zeeshan Maqsood 109, Ayaan Khan 56; Sompal Kami 5/57, Sandeep Lamichhane 3/66)

Nepal 274/7 in 44.5 overs (Kushal Bhurtel 101 not out, Bhim Sharki 56; Aqib Ilyas 4/42, Fayyaz Butt 2/66)

 

[RehanG]

Hope it's straightforward and WI & SL qualify.

 

[LongHorn]

Yes, A world cup without WI and Sri Lanka is like a football world cup without Italy and England

 

[sam_ahm]

Netherlands are missing a lot of their players to county cricket and so are Scotland.

Nepal, UAE, USA and Oman are capable of causing the odd upset but not going to qualify.

So basically it will come down to SL, WI, ZIM and IRE... Two of them go through. All four teams are pretty good and I would stay away from predictions here. It will be very close for sure.

Netherlands probably have an outside chance.

The tournament will be superb.

 

[MenInG]

Wessly Madhevere is not afraid to be ambitious and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 is the perfect stage for him to record a first international century.

The 22-year-old all-rounder has registered 12 half-centuries in white-ball cricket since breaking into the Zimbabwe team three years ago but has not quite cracked three figures.

Now, as Zimbabwe look to return to the biggest stage for the first time since 2015 by coming through the Qualifier on home soil, Madhevere is desperate to show he can be a match-winner with the bat.

“If there is one thing that has been said by the coaches and so many people who know me, is that they are demanding a big score,” he said.

“I know I’m due a big score. I’m looking to get my first hundred in this tournament. Hopefully it happens. That is one of the things that almost everyone is talking about.”

Zimbabwe will open their campaign against Nepal in Harare on Sunday before taking on the Netherlands two days later.

And for Madhevere, that meeting with the Dutch brings back some happy memories, having taken a hat-trick against them earlier this year.

“I don’t know if I can explain the feeling of taking the hat-trick but it was something beyond what I could imagine,” he said.

“For it to actually happen to me came as a surprise but I’ll take it and look to take more. It was a brilliant feeling.

“I believe I’m one of those players who thrives on confidence. Being able to contribute to my team and being able to help the team win games, it can only boost my confidence.

“I’m quite confident right now and hopefully I’ll be able to put on some match-winning performances for my team.”

It has now been 20 years since Zimbabwe got through the group stage of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup – doing so twice in succession in 1999 and 2003.

And for Madhevere, the chance to re-establish Zimbabwe at the highest level is something he has dreamed about for a long time.

He said: “I was probably 10 when I started watching cricket and dreamed about playing for my country. For it to happen for me right now is massive, I can’t even explain.

“This tournament means a lot. So many players in our squad have dreamt about playing in it. I’ve dreamt a lot about playing in a tournament like this.

“It’s exciting times for us and for the nation as well. Guys are keen to get back the status that Zimbabwe cricket had and there is no better chance than this one, so we’re really excited about the opportunity.”



Zimbabwe

How they qualified

Zimbabwe finished second bottom of the Super League to drop into the Qualifier, which they will host.

Their six victories from 24 matches included eye-catching triumphs over Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, three series in which they ultimately ended up losing 2-1.

World Cup record

The Chevrons featured in every ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup between 1983 and 2015 but missed out on qualification four years ago.

Their best performances came in 1999 and 2003, Zimbabwe reaching the Super Six stage on both occasions.

One to watch

Ryan Burl claimed career-best figures of five for 10 when Zimbabwe beat Australia in Townsville last year.

Also a useful lower-order hitter, as Ireland can testify – Burl smashing an unbeaten 30 from 11 balls to win an IT20 in Harare in January.

When are they playing?

The hosts feature on day one against Nepal (June 18) before further matches against Netherlands (June 20), West Indies (June 24) and USA (June 26).

 

[MenInG]

All-rounder Yannic Cariah has suffered a nasal fracture after being struck in the face at West Indies training ahead of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

Yannic Cariah was injured when receiving a nasty blow to the face at West Indies training during preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

The all-rounder will remain in Zimbabwe with the team and be reassessed in the coming days.

Cariah had shown signs of strong form in the CWC Qualifier warm-up matches, taking 4/46 against Scotland and then backing that up with another four-wicket haul against the UAE.

The 30-year-old has played eight ODIs since making a West Indies debut against New Zealand in August last year and has more than a decade of experience playing at the top level in the Caribbean.

The leg-spinner also impressed in his only two T20Is when troubling an Australia outfit that were fine-tuning for an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on home soil.

Cariah is also able to contribute valuable runs from the lower order and looms as a costly loss for the West Indies as they aim to secure one of the two remaining spots at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India later this year.

West Indies will kick off their campaign against the USA on the opening day of the CWC Qualifier on June 18, then face Nepal, Zimbabwe and Netherlands in a tricky Group A.

ICC

 

[light]

Netherlands are missing a lot of their players to county cricket and so are Scotland.

Nepal, UAE, USA and Oman are capable of causing the odd upset but not going to qualify.

So basically it will come down to SL, WI, ZIM and IRE... Two of them go through. All four teams are pretty good and I would stay away from predictions here. It will be very close for sure.

Netherlands probably have an outside chance.

The tournament will be superb.

I don't understand why they wouldn't choose national team instead of county. Boggles my mind

 

[sam_ahm]

I don't understand why they wouldn't choose national team instead of county. Boggles my mind

Counties pay them far better than national boards mate. The associate boards don't have enough money. There is a very good article on cricinfo on this recently which explains.

 

[sam_ahm]

Both the test playing nations under the gun here. Zimbabwe have been very very poor in the field dropping sitters and bowling filth. USA have surprisingly got the better if WI's batters so far.

Nepal 248/3 (44) v Zim
WI 195/6 (37) v USA

 

[Rajdeep]

Nepal is a good progressive team but their fans are unbearable. Already spamming ICC pages like no tomorrow. Reminds me of BD fans circa 2015-2019 period. I hope team India brings them back to earth in upcoming Asia cup with regal thrashing.

 

[sam_ahm]

Nepal 290/8 (50)

Good score but it think it can be chased down. Zimbabwe did manage to pull things back a bit in the last 10 overs.

 

[Markhor]

Zimbabwe chasing superbly vs Nepal. It's amazing what a fresh approach and a positive mindset can do. Credit to Dave Houghton.

I think Lalchand Rajput was perhaps too old school a coach. Zimbabwe stagnated under him.

 

[sam_ahm]

Easy win for Zimbabwe in the end, brilliant centuries for Craig Ervine and Sean Williams while Richard Ngarava took a brilliant 4 for to pull things back in the first innings.

Zimbabwe made made mistakes in the girls tbh, yet have won this with ease, these are great signs for ZC. I think the series against Pak A was good preparation and Ervine has continued his form from that series.

USA have given a good account of themselves against the WI, fantastic century for Gayanand Singh. WI prevail but that wasn't all that impressive.

 

[sam_ahm]

Zimbabwe chasing superbly vs Nepal. It's amazing what a fresh approach and a positive mindset can do. Credit to Dave Houghton.

I think Lalchand Rajput was perhaps too old school a coach. Zimbabwe stagnated under him.

Under Rajput they were losing against Namibia mate!

Since Houghton took over:

Zimbabwe won ODI series and T20 series against Bangladesh
Won an ODI against Australia
Qualified for T20 WC by winning the qualifier event
Made it to the Main round of T20 WC ahead of WI
Beat Pak in T20 WC
Won ODI series against Netherlands
Won T20 series against Ireland
Drew ODI series against Ireland
Drew a test match against WI
Won OD series against Pak A

All in all superb turnaround.

 

[MenInG]

While Zimbabwe secured a comprehensive win over Nepal, West Indies were made to sweat hard in their win over USA on the opening day of ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023.

Brilliant hundreds from Craig Ervine and Sean Williams helped Zimbabwe to an eight wicket win over Nepal in the opening encounter of the World Cup Qualifier. Chasing a target of 291 runs, Zimbawbe won with 35 balls to spare.

In pursuit of 291, the Zimbabwe openers began on a positive note. Joylord Gumbie and Craig Ervine added 45 runs, before Gumbie was adjudged lbw off Sompal Kami in the eighth over.

Incoming batter, Wesley Madhevere, then joined forces with Ervine to keep the Zimbabwe chase on track. Together they added 82 runs off 92 balls for the second wicket. However, Nepal struck back in the 24th over, when Gulsan Jha dismissed Madhevere for 32.

At the halfway stage mark, the Chevrons were 131/2, with Ervine unbeaten on 62.

Sean Williams and Ervine then took the attack to the Nepal bowlers, dispatching 77 runs between overs 26-35. Gradually the required rate came under six an over, and Zimbabwe assumed the driver's seat. Ervine brought up his fourth ODI century in the 38th over.

Only an inspirational act on the field could change the course of game, but that wasn't to be the case. Williams brought up a ton of his own in the 44th over, with a boundary that equaled the scores. In total, Ervine scored 121* off 128, with 15 fours and a six to his name. Williams hit 102* off 70, with 13 fours and a six.

Earlier today, Zimbabwe skipper Ervine decided to bowl first against Nepal at Harare Sports Club.

An experienced Zimbabwe side banked on their star players, including Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, and Tendai Chatara, to contribute towards a strong showing in their opening encounter.

Nepal, riding high after their recent ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 success, were hoping for their golden run to continue in the qualifier.

After a couple of watchful overs, Nepal openers Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh opened their arms and started looking for runs. The duo made the most of the scoring opportunities in the first half of their innings and got the side to 114 without loss in 25 overs.

Bhurtel took the lead in run-scoring and scored 66 runs off 75 balls in this period. Zimbabwe tried a number of bowling options, including the likes of Williams and Raza, but couldn't dislodge the pair.

Bhurtel and Aasif picked the scoring rate after this, blasting away 50 runs between the 26-30 over mark. Just when Nepal looked like they were going to take the game away from the tournament hosts, the Chevrons struck back. In the 32nd over, Wellington Masakadza (2/42) yorked Bhurtel for 99. A couple of overs later he accounted for Aasif, who fell for 66.

Despite these two setbacks, Nepal continued at a steady rate at the back of Kushal Malla (41) and Rohit Paudel (31). However, accurate death bowling from Richard Ngrava (4/43) and co. meant that Nepal couldn't get past 300. They scored 79 runs off their last 10 overs, and finished at 290 for eight.

In their opening encounter of the World Cup Qualifier, West Indies secured a 39-run win over the USA. West Indies dominated most of the game, but struggled against the USA lower-order towards the end as Gajanand Singh scored a superb century.

West Indies had managed a total of 297, thanks to decent knocks from Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase and Jason Holder, but were given a scare as USA pushed the game close.

USA got off to a sedate start in response to the West Indies total. Sushant Modani and Steven Taylor added 35 runs for the first wicket, before the former was taken at third man off a Jason Holder delivery in the eighth over. In the very next over, Kyle Mayers accounted for Taylor (18).

The USA's chances were badly hit when Monank Patel and Saiteja Mukkamalla fell in back-to-back overs, leaving the North American side at 55/4 in 13.4 overs. Walking in next, USA no. 6 Gajanand Singh took the attack to West Indies bowlers before looking to settle in for the chase.

Together with Aaron Jones, he added 42 runs for the fifth wicket. The stand was broken when Jones was run out in the 21st over. At the halfway stage, USA were 106/5.

USA's sixth wicket stand withstood the West Indies challenge till the 34th over. Gajanand and Shayan Jahangir added 58 runs off 83 balls, before the latter fell to Alzarri Joseph.

After Shayan's dismissal, the West Indies win seemed to be a formality as the run rate had crept over 10. However, they had to contend with a spirited stand between Gajanand and Nosthush Kenjige. The duo added 76 runs for the eighth wicket and remained unbeaten till the end of the game. Gajanand (101*) also scored his maiden ODI hundred in the final over of the game.


Earlier in the day, USA skipper Monank won the toss at Takashinga Sports Club and decided to bowl first. The American team hoped that their seamers led by Saurabh Netravalkar could make up for the absence of Ali Khan, who misses the first two games of the tournament due to an ICC suspension.

West Indies, led by Shai Hope, were without Trinidad player Yannic Cariah, who missed out because of an injury.

The USA new-ball opening pair of Saurabh Netravalkar and Kyle Phillip proved to be handy in the opening overs, when they got the ball to jag around and asked several questions of the West Indies batters. The duo got one each as the West Indies lost their openers within the first six overs. At 15/2 things looked dire for the Men in Maroon, but skipper Hope joined hands with Johnson Charles to stitch together a crucial stand of 115 runs which stabilised the innings.

Hope's knock of 54 was brought to an end in the 27th over, when the West Indies skipper hit a Nosthush Kenjige delivery towards the cover sweeper. In the very next over, Taylor brought the downfall of Charles (66), who skied one towards short third man.

Roston Chase and Nicholas Pooran then came together to rebuild the West Indies innings once more. Pooran was his usual free-flowing self, whereas Chase held the innings together from the other end. At 187/4 in 35 overs, the batting side were at a slight advantage.

However, part-timer Taylor struck back for the USA and took back-to-back wickets in the form of Pooran (43 from 28) and Rovman Powell (0) in the 36th over.

Their quest for a total closing in on 300 was then guided by Jason Holder, who played a fiery knock of 56 off 40. The Men in Maroon were bowled out for 297.

 

[sam_ahm]

Oman have beaten Ireland by 5 wickets. As I said this tournament will be very close.

Ireland and Afghanistan usually get a lot of praise even for small achievements from fans where as Zimbabwe and Bangladesh often get bashed up for every slip up.

Afghans last week lost by some 540 runs against Bangla boys and now Ireland have lost to Oman.

 

[amit]

Oman's win over Ireland has thrown the group wide open

While Sri Lanka should qualify and won't lose more than 1 match, but West Indies seem to be under serious danger of missing out. Zimbabwe seem determined for qualification this time and Scotland also will want to do what they missed out 5 years earlier so many interesting matches are still to come

 

[MenInG]

After two intriguing Group A fixtures in Harare on Sunday, attention moved to Bulawayo where we saw the first blows in Group B.

At the Queens Sports Club Sri Lanka began their campaign with a massive win over United Arab Emirates, while over at the Bulawayo Athletic Club, Oman secured a statement win over Ireland in a superb match.

Oman's victory was their first against Ireland in One Day Internationals and saw them complete their highest ever successful run chase in the format.

Match 3: Sri Lanka beat UAE by 175 runs

Sri Lanka made a strong start to the tournament as they outclassed UAE in Bulawayo.

The top order all made half-centuries to set up a big Sri Lanka total of 355/6, with some late fireworks from Charith Asalanka and Wanindu Hasaranga adding gloss to the biggest first innings score of the tournament so far.

And the quality of Sri Lanka’s spinners did the damage in the second innings, with Hasaranga removing three of the UAE’s top five and going on to take six wickets in a convincing win.

UAE won the toss and elected to bowl in Bulawayo, with the match the first men's ODI between the teams in almost 15 years.

The Emiratis left out Junaid Siddique, opting for Zahoor Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah and the extra pace option of revelation Ali Naseer. Sri Lanka on the other side did not serve up any surprises, although Dushmantha Chameera was missing with a pectoral issue. The team welcomed Dimuth Karunaratne back into the ODI batting line-up.

Put in to bat first, the returning Karunaratne showed why Sri Lanka decided to bring him back into the ODI setup after a two-year gap ahead of the Qualifier. In conditions that had a bit of movement on offer for the pacers, Karunaratne's solid technique came in handy as he gathered boundaries – a total of six in the Powerplay – at ease.

At the other end Pathum Nissanka struggled to get runs flowing from his bat. However, the initial grind paid off after Nissanka struck back-to-back boundaries off Muhammad Jawadullah in the fifth over to get his innings going.

The openers kept the scoreboard ticking and, in the process, Karunaratne brought up his third consecutive fifty but fell in the very next over. The opening pair added 95 runs for the first wicket, successfully negotiating that early period where conditions most favour the bowlers.

Joining hands with Kusal Mendis to build on the foundation, Nissanka too reached the 50-run landmark as Sri Lanka were coasting at 133/1 at the halfway stage of their innings.

Scoring accelerated dramatically through the second half of the innings.

Mendis hit ten fours in his classy 63-ball 78, and his 105-run partnership with Sadeera Samarawickrama fired Sri Lanka towards a big target.

Mendis holed out to the substitute fielder off Ali Naseer, and Samarawickrama was run out on 73 from 64 balls to give UAE hope of restricting the scoring in the final six overs.

But Asalanka had other ideas, unleashing boundary after boundary in a brilliant display of finishing as he struck 48* off just 23 balls. And Wanindu Hasaranga (23* off 12) hit three boundaries in the final over to help post a score of 355/6 that will test UAE to the limit.

The young Naseer justified his pick with standout figures of 2/44 off ten overs – comfortably the best on show.

UAE’s reply got off to a steady start until Lahiru Kumara pulled off a smart caught and bowled to remove open Rohan Mustafa for 12.

But the brilliance of Hasaranga was on full show as he picked up three wickets in the space of two overs, removing Muhammad Waseem (39), Basil Hameed (0) and Asif Khan (8) to put Sri Lanka in complete control.

Some tidy contributions ensured it was a respectable effort with the bat from UAE, with Vriitya Aravind matching his captain’s top score of 39 before being trapped lbw by Dhananjaya de Silva.

And a decent partnership between Rameez Shahzad (26) and Naseer (34) made Sri Lanka wait for the win.

But wickets tumbled once the partnership was broken.

Maheesh Theekshana got in on the action to clean up Naseer, and the outstanding Hasaranga finished the job with two wickets in two balls as UAE were bowled out for 180 in 39 overs.

Hasaranga finished with exceptional figures of 6/24 in eight overs as the tournament favourites started their campaign in style.

Match 4: Oman beat Ireland by five wickets

Oman pulled off a superb run chase to beat Ireland at the Bulawayo Athletic Club and throw Group B wide open.

Ireland would have been confident after a flurry of lower-order runs helped them to 281/7 against Oman, with Harry Tector and George Dockrell starring with the bat after Oman won the toss and elected to bowl.

But Oman chased their target down in style, with half-centuries from Kashyap Prajapati, Aqib Ilyas and Zeeshan Maqsood breaking the back of it.

And the win came with 11 balls to spare as Mohammad Nadeem (46*), Ayaan Khan (21) and Shoaib Khan (19*) finished it off.

Andrew Balbirnie confirmed at the toss that Andy McBrine would open the batting with Paul Stirling having experimented with the idea during the warm-up encounters. Ben White was also named as an extra spinner in the team, and the side welcome back Josh Little who sat out their Test match with England. Oman largely stuck with the side that got them through the League 2 campaign.

Batting first, Andy McBrine and Paul Stirling took the attack to the Oman bowlers to set the tone early. The openers struck a boundary each in the second over that set the ball rolling for Ireland and found the boundaries with ease for most of the Powerplay.

Just when the duo looked set for a big opening partnership having just completed a 50-run stand, the short-ball ploy bright their downfall in consecutive deliveries. Stirling holed out in the deep to a pull shot while McBrine mistimed his attempt to clear the ring straight into the hands of mid-off.

The consecutive wickets halted Ireland's momentum and put the brakes on their scoring, eventually leading to the wicket of captain Andy Balbirnie whose drive only managed the outside edge into the safe hands of Naseem Khushi.

Harry Tector, the ICC Men's Player of the Month for May 2023, got going with two crisp drives. Lorcan Tucker too joined hands as the pair added quick runs in the middle overs to make up for the lull. Tucker smashed Ayaan Khan for consecutive boundaries but it was the left-arm spinner who had the last laugh with a ripper to dismiss the wicketkeeper-batter for an 18-ball 26.

With Oman using left-arm spin to keep Ireland quiet, George Dockrell decided to upset their rhythm with two boundaries off Ayaan Khan, taking Ireland to 125/4 after 25 overs.

Gareth Delany (20 off 14), Mark Adair (15 off 11) and Graham Hume (15* off 12) all scored quickly as Dockrell carried on at the other end.

And the 30-year-old finished unbeaten on 91* to help Ireland to a competitive total, with Bilal Khan and Fayyaz Butt took two wickets apiece in the pick of the figures for Oman.

Ireland kept the momentum going when Mark Adair had opener Jatinder Singh caught at second slip for one run.

But a partnership worth 94 between Ilyas and Prajapati laid the foundations for Oman.

Both batters reached their half-centuries before Ilyas departed for a 49-ball 52 to Dockrell, but the wicket didn’t derail the innings.

Prajapati and skipper Maqsood kept the runs flowing, adding 62 from the third wicket before the opener finally fell to Josh Little for an excellent 72.

And Little struck again to have Maqsood caught behind for 59 and give his team hope.

Ayaan Khan’s run-a-ball 21 was ended by Adair’s caught and bowled, but with Mohammad Nadeem firing to 46*, Oman closed in on victory.

And the winning runs came at the start of the penultimate over, with Shoaib Khan crunching a four to spark jubilant celebrations

ICC

 

[sam_ahm]

Would have been good if the title of this thread was changed to "ICC CWC Qualifiers 2023" . Just a suggestion as this that is now more relevant to this thread.

 

[sam_ahm]

Fastest century in Zimbabwe cricket history for Sikandar Raza!!!!

Zimbabwe chase down 316 against Netherlands in just 41 overs. Breathtaking stuff!!!

4 wickets and a century for Raza. What. A. Player!!!

 

[MenInG]

The third day of ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 saw wins for Zimbabwe and Nepal.

Zimbabwe hunted down a target of 316 in merely 40.5 overs, while Nepal changed gears towards the end of their chase to finish their encounter against USA with 42 balls to spare.

Zimbabwe registered their third-fastest successful run-chase in ODIs with a crucial win over Netherlands.
Impeccable onslaughts from Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza ensured Zimbabwe's second consecutive win in the tournament. This was their third highest successful chase in ODIs, with Raza reaching the fastest-ever ODI century for Zimbabwe when he hit the winning runs with a six. With this victory, the Chevrons have further boosted their claim for a place in the Super Six.

In pursuit of 316, Zimbabwe's response was led by their skipper, Craig Ervine. He hit nine fours during a quality knock of 50, and added 81 runs for the first wicket. Ervine, however, fell in the 14th over after he miscued a Vikramjit Singh delivery towards mid-wicket where Clayton Floyd took a diving catch.

Arriving at number three, Sean Williams continued in the same free-flowing form which had brought him a century in the last game against Nepal. Along with Joylord Gumbie, who survived a number of close calls, he added 62 from 44 balls. The stand finally fell when Gumbie (40) ran out of luck and was bowled off a beauty from Shariz Ahmad.

Soon after Shariz also accounted for Wessly Madhevere for 10. But this didn't deter Williams from going for his runs. He brought up his 50 off merely 28 balls in the 23rd over.

Raza's arrival at the wicket meant that Zimbabwe's run-rate picked up even further. From the 26th over till drinks break, Zimbabwe went at over nine runs an over, bringing the required run rate to less than 4.5. The duo were particularly brutal in Saqib Zulfiqar's first over, taking 17 runs off the leg-spinner.

Williams fell agonizingly short of his second consecutive hundred, when he gave away his wicket in the 35th over to Bas de Leede, but Zimbabwe were already way ahead in the game at this stage.

Raza, complimented his four-for with a blistering century which came off merely 54 balls. His blitz included a hat-trick of sixes against young spinner, Shariz. This was the fastest ODI hundred by a Zimbabwe batter.

Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bowl. In terms of head-to-head record, the two teams stand evenly matched, having won and lost three games each.

The Dutch welcomed back de Leede. The player, who came after fulfilling county duties for Durham, was a late arrival into the setup. Zimbabwe stuck to the XI which won them the opening encounter against Nepal.

Netherlands openers took advantage of a good batting strip in the opening hour. Opener Max O'Dowd, who had an average of 71 against Zimbabwe before this game, showed positive intent and was among runs from the very start. His partner, Vikramjit Singh, took his time to settle but eventually opened his arms. Together the duo hit nine boundaries in their first 10 overs to get Netherlands to 57 without loss. They upped the ante after that and ensured that the Dutch crossed 100 without loss by the 17th over.

While the frontline bowlers leaked runs, all-rounders Ryan Burl and Sikandar Raza helped slow down the scoring rate with their disciplined bowling. And it was Raza, who brought the first breakthrough in the 21st over when he castled O'Dowd for 59. In his very next over, Raza had Wesley Barresi bowled after the batter missed a switch hit and edged the ball onto his stumps.

At the halfway stage, Netherlands were 139/2, with half-centurion Vikramjit still on strike.

The Dutch skipper Scott Edwards rejuvenated the Netherlands innings with a purposeful knock. With Vikramjit, he added 96 from merely 97 balls. In this stand, his contribution was 49 off 48, and by the 38th over, Netherlands were placed at 221/2 and looked all set to cross the 300-run mark with ease.

However, Raza (4/55) returned to torment the Dutch. He got rid of the set Vikramjit for 88 in the 39th over and then uprooted de Leede's middle stump with a beauty in the 41st over. When Richard Ngrava had Teja Nidamanuru caught for 1 to leave the Netherlands reeling at 238/5, it looked like the European side would repeat the mistakes of Nepal to miss out on a total of 300.

But an enterprising sixth wicket stand of 59 between Edwards (83) and Saqib Zulfiqar helped Netherlands cross that mark with ease.


Match 6: Nepal won by six wickets against USA

While USA had their moments in the game, courtesy a special knock from Shayan Jahangir, Nepal proved to be the overall better side on the day.

USA were rattled early in their innings by some exceptional Nepal bowling, but managed to post 207 on the back of a brilliant hundred from Shayan Jahangir. During his stay at the crease, Jahangir added 100 out of 142 runs scored by USA batters.

Chasing a modest total of 208, the Nepal innings was rocked early on when opener Aasif Sheikh fell lbw to Saurabh Netravalkar at 12. But Nepal batters took advantage of some ordinary fielding from USA to get their innings going. Kushal Bhurtel and Bhim Sharki added 49 runs for the second wicket, before Bhurtel (39) fell to Nosthush Kenjige.

Skipper Rohit Paudel then joined Sharki in steadying the Nepal innings. Though the scoring rate dropped, the duo ensured that Nepal didn't lose another wicket till the mid-inning mark.

Paudel's fall to Nisarg Patel in the 27th over brought the youngster Kushal Malla to the crease. He wasn't able to get going but brought some impetus with his run-a-ball 13, which included a six.

With Dipendra Airee's arrival, Nepal put the foot on the pedal and took the game further away from USA. Together they added 74 runs for the fifth wicket. Sharki finished at 77*, while Airee made 39* in a successful chase.

Earlier, Nepal won the toss and elected to take the field at the Takashinga Sports Club. After defeats for both teams first-up, this encounter is vital for their hopes of a Super Six spot.

Monty Desai hails Nepal's young group in the midst of CWC23 Qualifier fire
Nepal edge the historic match-up record 3-2 in ODI cricket having played USA six times in League 2 cricket, with the other match a tie in Texas in June 2022.

Both sides were forced to make changes. USA skipper Monank Patel handed the captaincy to batter Aaron Jones after falling ill. On the Nepal side, Sompal Kami is expected to miss a week with injury and was replaced by Lalit Rajbanshi.

Nepal seamer Karan KC ensured that he made up for Kami's absence with an exceptional new-ball spell. In his very first over, he packed off Steven Taylor (4) and Saiteja Mukkamalla (0) off consecutive deliveries. Karan didn't let up his intensity after these breakthroughs and pushed the USA batting further into the doldrums.

In the eighth over, he had the stand-in USA captain Aaron Jones caught at gully and then in the 10th over, he had Nosthush Kenjige caught at first slip. By the 10th over mark, USA had four batters back in the hut for merely 19 runs. Gajanand Singh, the centurion from USA's opening encounter against West Indies, joined hands with Sushant Modani to stabilise the innings. Together the duo added 47 runs from 73 balls.

But just when Gajanand was priming for another rescue act, the southpaw was caught brilliantly at first slip by Aarif Sheikh. At 25 overs, USA were 80/5.

Modani (42) soon followed Gajanand back into the pavilion after missing out on a sweep against Rajbanshi in the 27th over. Having taken six wickets under the score 100, Nepal would've hoped to clean up the remaining batters as soon as possible.

However, Shayan Jahangir came to the USA's rescue with an exemplary knock of 100* from 79 balls. He hit 10 fours and three sixes during his innings.

He also forged important lower-order stands with Nisarg Patel (34 for the seventh wicket), Jessy Singh (42 for the eighth wicket) and Netravalkar (37 for the ninth wicket).

ICC

 

[sam_ahm]

Unbelievable game between Ireland and Scotland. The Scots winning off the last ball by 1 wicket!!!

Ireland have now lost to both Oman and Scotland and are staring at a first round exit!!! Who would have thought that!?

 

[MenInG]

Unbelievable game between Ireland and Scotland. The Scots winning off the last ball by 1 wicket!!!

Ireland have now lost to both Oman and Scotland and are staring at a first round exit!!! Who would have thought that!?

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe – A gutsy maiden ODI century by Curtis Campher wasn’t enough as Ireland Men fell to a last-ball, one-wicket loss to Scotland at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier today.

Looking odds-on to win with ease with 10 overs left in the run-chase, Ireland’s bowlers couldn’t rein in the batting of the lower-order pair of Michael Leask (91*) and Mark Watt (47) who put on 82 for the 8th wicket. While Watt fell, Leask shepherded through the tailenders and saw Scotland through to a one-wicket, last-ball win.

Earlier in the day, Ireland’s top order failed to fire and it fell to a Curtis Campher-George Dockrell partnership to save the Irish innings and post a competitive score. Their 136-run stand came from 150 balls and rescued their side from a precarious position of 70-5 in the 19th over.

Campher started watchfully as he entered the fray with his side languishing at 33-4. He built a steadying partnership of 37 with Andy McBrine (32) before Dockrell joined him at the crease. Dockrell looked the more aggressive of the two, however, Campher was busy, working the ball and running hard – routinely turning ones into twos, and putting pressure on the fielders.

After Campher and Dockrell both brought up their half-centuries they began to up the run rate. Campher began to regularly find the boundary – and struck four maximums over the boundary – as he accelerated through the gears. His pull shot for six, followed by consecutive boundaries off Safyaan Sharif in the 43rd over signalled his intent to finish with a flourish. His first 50 runs took 68 balls, but his second 50 only took 31 balls, bringing up his first ODI century with a boundary behind square.

The loss of Dockrell for 69 did not see the run rate abate – Campher and Gareth Delany (19) combining for a quickfire 50-run partnership in just over four overs. Campher finally fell for 120 from the penultimate ball of the innings, Josh Little powered the last ball for four down the ground, and Ireland went into the break with a highly competitive 286-8.

Ireland started well with the ball, Adair removing Matthew Cross (4) in the second over. Adair soon had two wickets before Campher, never far from the action in this match, made two incisive interventions – first he trapped Chris McBride (56) in front then took a deflected catch at short third man. Four wickets fell for 32 runs, reducing Scotland to 122-6 in the 28th over.

When Watt strode to the crease Scotland was 152-7, needing 135 runs in 16 overs – in the end it came down to the last ball with Leask under-edging a boundary past wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker’s outstretched left hand.

Ireland now has three days break until they face Sri Lanka on Sunday. While Ireland still maintains a chance of qualification, they will require favourable results elsewhere to achieve their goal.

MATCH SUMMARY
Ireland Men v Scotland Men, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Bulawayo, 21 June 2023

Ireland 286-8 (50 overs: C Campher 120, G Dockrell 69; B McMullen 5-34)
Scotland 289-9 (50 overs; M Leask, C McBride 56; M Adair 3-57)

Scotland won by 1 wicket

 

[BDfanforever]

Josh Little learned nothing from playing in IPL and other leagues. Lost the game in just one over.

 

[MenInG]

Match 8: Oman beat UAE by five wickets

Oman proved to be the overall better side in their encounter against regional rivals, UAE.

Junaid Siddique's twin strikes in the fifth over provided the perfect start to UAE. The dangerous duo of Kashyap Prajapati and Jatinder Singh was sent back into the hut. Chasing a modest target of 228, Oman needed batters who could hold the innings while seeing off the new ball.

Aqib Ilyas and Shoaib Khan came together to deliver for the Gulf side. They batted carefully over the next 10 overs, getting Oman to 42/2 in the first 15 before going for their shots. They went about six an over between overs 16-25 and got Oman to 101.

However, Oman lost the duo as soon as they had added 100 runs for the third wicket. Aqib (53) was bowled by Rohan Mustafa in the 27th over, and Shoaib Khan retired hurt at the end of that very over.

The arrival of two new batters was UAE's ticket into the contest. The Emirati side was further buoyed by the dismissal of Zeeshan Maqsood in the 30th over. The Oman skipper fell leg before to Mustafa's off-spin.

Effectively five down, Oman chose the attacking route. Mohammad Nadeem and Ayaan Khan brought up their fifty run stand off merely 47 balls. As the required rate came closer to four, the UAE side began to lose their spirit in the field.

UAE got a breakthrough in the 43rd over when Aayan Khan dismissed Ayaan for 41. But this brought Shoaib Khan, who had recovered from his injury, back to the crease. He helped Oman get over the line with Nadeem's help, while also getting to his half-century.

During the UAE innings, an 87-run stand for the third wicket between Aravind and Rameez and an aggressive fifty by teenager Aayan Afzal Khan, helped UAE to 227.

Probing new-ball spells from Bilal Khan and Fayyaz Butt, gave Oman early advantage against their Gulf rivals. Bilal drew first blood when he got the UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem lbw for 8 in the third over of the morning. The very next over, Fayyaz had Rohan Mustafa caught behind for the same score. The duo bowled tight lines to keep UAE at 36/2 at the 10-over mark.

Vriitya Aravind and Rameez Shahzad brought order after chaos and ensured that the Emiratis moved ahead at a steady rate. However, Rameez's (38) loss to Jay Odedra's off-spin in the 25th over gave Oman a crucial breakthrough at the right time.

This wicket turned to be a turning point, as Oman impressed with the ball in the middle overs. They picked three wickets between overs 26-35 besides stifling the scoring rate. Aravind and Ali Naseer were cleaned up by Odedra's brilliant off-spin, while Basil Hameed fell to Ayaan Khan's left-arm spin.

When Fayyaz returned to account for Asif Khan in the 40th over, UAE were 154/7 and Oman were right on top of the game. But for Aayan Afzal Khan's aggressive 58*, UAE might've struggled to cross even 200 in the game. The youngster hit 10 fours during his enterprising knock.

In the morning, Oman won the toss and elected to bowl at the Athletic Club.

Oman enjoyed a stirring victory over Ireland to kickstart their campaign at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023
The men from the Sultanate turned heads in their opening outing, rolling over Ireland in an assured chase of 282, also on the same ground on Monday. They've gone with the same XI, while UAE have made one change with Junaid Siddique, a fast-bowling replacement for Muhammad Jawadullah.

ICC

 

[MenInG]

 

[MenInG]

The fifth day of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 saw the West Indies make it two wins in two games, while Netherlands were able to secure their first victory of the competition.

West Indies held complete sway in their maiden contest against Nepal. In the other game of the day, Netherlands managed a comfortable win over USA.

Match 9: West Indies beat Nepal by 101 runs

West Indies were at the top of their game in the batting and bowling department, and secured a massive win over Nepal.

West Indies were poor in the field but still managed to eke out two Nepal wickets in the first powerplay. Kushal Bhurtel was cleaned up by Alzarri Joseph for five, whereas Bhim Sarki scored only two before being caught behind off the bowling of Jason Holder. Nepal's chances dropped even further after Aasif Sheikh (28) fell to a loose stroke in the 12th over.

Over the next few overs, the sub-continental side looked to preserve wickets in order to rebuild their innings.

But this effort received a setback when Holder bounced out Rohit Paudel for 30. Akeal Hosein joined in on the fun when he got the wicket of Kushal Malla courtesy a brilliant catch in the deep by substitute, Keacy Carter.

In the second half, Nepal went into the defensive mode soon after Dipendra Airee (23) fell to Hosein in the 28th over. Aarif Sheikh and Gulsan Jha stayed at the wicket but added merely 68 runs from 94 balls. In the final powerplay, West Indies managed to run through the Nepal lower-order. Jason Holder (3/34), Alzarri Joseph (2/44), Akeal Hossein (2/49), and Keemo Paul (2/63) were the chief wicket takers.

A massive 216-run stand for the fourth wicket between Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran helped West Indies overcome early hiccups and the side reached a total in excess of 300.

West Indies had a nightmarish start to their innings, losing Kyle Mayers (1) and Johnson Charles (0) in the first five overs. Probing new-ball spells from Nepal bowlers was backed by sharp work in the field as West Indies batters struggled for runs in the initial overs. The batting side were 30/2 at the end of first powerplay.

Gradually, Brandon King and Shai Hope grew in confidence and improved their scoring rate. But just when they had started taking off, King fell to Sandeep Lamichhane in the 15th over. This was the leg-spinner's first wicket of the tournament. Nepal very nearly had their fourth wicket when Nicholas Pooran edged a Lalit Rajbanshi delivery behind the wicket, but the keeper failed to hold on.

This drop proved to be costly as Hope and Pooran unleashed a series of exquisite shots to bring West Indies back into the game.

The set batters made Nepal pay for even the smallest of errors and went about piling quick runs. They added almost 100 runs between the 26-37 over mark. Both the batters brought up their centuries in the 40th over. This was the 15th ODI hundred for Hope, whereas it was the second ODI century for Pooran.

Nepal finally got a breakthrough when Dipendra Airee pulled off a brilliant catch off his own bowling to end Pooran's knock at 115. Their stand of 216 was the second-best fourth-wicket partnership for West Indies in ODIs.

Pooran's fall brought little relief to the bowling side, as the West Indies continued wreaking havoc on the pitch. Hope's (132) brilliant hundred came to an end in the final over.

Earlier today, Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel called it right at the toss, and decided to take the field. The Asian team backed the same XI which had won against the USA.

Shai Hope-led West Indies also went in with the same side that had featured in their last game. Both teams are at two points in the Group A points table, and would look to enhance their chances of a Super Six spot with a win.


Match 10: Netherlands beat USA by five wickets

Barring a short spell of play when USA bowlers got through three quick middle-order wickets, the American side were never quite in the contest against the Dutch.

Ali Khan returned in style as he pulled off a good catch to dismiss Vikramjit Singh in the fourth over. However, little else went USA's way in the first powerplay as Netherlands batters Max O'Dowd and Wesley Barresi scored at a healthy run rate.

The Dutch seemed to be cruising at 61/1 in 11 overs, but Jessy Singh bowled an impeccable spell of 2/13 during which he accounted for O'Dowd and Barresi. Another breakthrough by Saurabh Netravalkar in the 22nd over made the game an even affair.

The fifth-wicket stand between Teja Nidamanuru and Scott Edwards shifted the advantage back to Netherlands. Their stand came at a brisk pace as the duo did not miss out on any run-scoring opportunity. This composed partnership added 72 runs from 81 balls, and brought the required run rate to under four an over.

USA got a flicker of hope when they got Nidamanuru (58) in the 34th over. But a settled Edwards ensured that his side crossed the line with no more losses. He finished at 67*.

In the first innings, disciplined bowling from the Netherlands ensured that USA never gained the upper hand.

The Dutch pacers were all over USA in the first powerplay. Ryan Klein (2/31) and Logan van Beek (1/43) accounted for the USA top order within a space of 34 balls. Coming in at No.5, the reliable Gajanand Singh tried to resuscitate the American innings with skipper Aaron Jones.

However, USA looked all out of sorts when Jones fell to Bas de Leede (2/37) off the final ball of the 14th over, and Gajanand (33) was dismissed by Vikramjit Singh in the 23rd over.

Just like in the last game, the task of rebuilding the American innings fell on Jahangir's shoulders. And the batter delivered, taking good support from Jessy Singh. Jahangir's resilience was rewarded as the batter reached his fifty in the 38th over mark.

As Jessy grew in confidence, he lofted a number of big sixes to complement Jahangir's positive approach. The duo added 86 runs off merely 99 balls, before Jessy fell to Aryan Dutt's bowling. Unlike the last game, Jahangir wasn't able to finish off with a century against his name and fell for 71. The USA tail then managed to hold on and get the side beyond 200.

Earlier in the day, Netherlands elected to field after winning the toss. USA were led once again by Jones, as their regular captain Monank Patel had failed to recover from his illness. The American side were, however, boosted by the return of Ali Khan, who replaced Kyle Phillip in the XI. Ali returns after having missed the first two games due to an ICC ban.

The pacer was in good form during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off in Namibia earlier this year. In his last international, he had picked a seven-for against Jersey.

Netherlands made one change to their line-up, with Ryan Klein coming in place of Saqib Zulfiqar.

ICC

 

[MenInG]

Another gripping day of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier saw Sri Lanka win big against Oman, while Richie Berrington scored a brilliant ton to help Scotland to a competitive score against UAE.

Match 11: Sri Lanka beat Oman by 10 wickets

Sri Lanka brushed off Oman in their Group B encounter at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo by registering a thumping 10-wicket victory. The result meant that they climbed to the summit of Group B and put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Super Six stage of the tournament.

Chasing a low total of 99, openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka barely broke a sweat, completing the task in 15 overs. Karunaratne was unbeaten on 61 while Nissanka scored 37* as Sri Lanka not only sealed a win but also bolstered their net run rate.

Earlier, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka called it right at the toss at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and opted to bowl first. His call paid immediate dividends as Sri Lanka had a brilliant start with the ball, with their pacers breathing fire on the Oman batters. The pace of Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha was too much for the Oman top-order to handle, as they found themselves in massive trouble early on.

Kashyap Prajapati was the first wicket to fall, as Kumara trapped him in front of the stumps. Aqib Ilyas followed suit, with Rajitha getting in on the act.

Kumara was in no mood to stop as he sent Zeeshan Maqsood and Mohammad Nadeem packing in quick succession, as Oman found themselves reeling at 20/4.

Ayaan Khan and Jatinder Singh then embarked on a rebuild job for Oman, putting together a 52-run stand. But it all changed again in a blink of an eye for Oman, as Wanindu Hasaranga delivered one of the overs of the Qualifier so far.

The 21st over by Hasaranga fetched him three wickets while also being a maiden. Hasaranga first trapped Jatinder Singh lbw for 21 in the first delivery. The third delivery then saw him bowl Shoaib Khan out. He completed the trifecta by getting Jay Odedra on the final delivery of the over.

Oman then found themselves in further trouble as miscommunication between Ayaan Khan and Naseem Khushi led to the latter being run out for 1 after brilliant work in the deep from Rajitha.

This left Oman reeling at 84/8 at the halfway mark.

Ayaan's gritty knock of 41 would then come to an end with Hasaranga scalping his fourth courtesy of a brilliant catch in the slips by Dhananjaya de Silva. Hasaranga would clinch his second consecutive five-wicket haul in the tournament, trapping Bilal Khan for zero, as Oman were bowled out for 98.


Match 12: UAE opt to field against Scotland

Scotland established a perfect platform to clinch their second win in a row at the Qualifier, with their bowlers putting them in charge after a Richie Berrington masterclass. Chasing 283, Oman already had a tall ask at hand but some brilliant bowling from the Scotland bowlers further set them back.

Chris Sole got the ball rolling with two wickets in two deliveries in the fifth over, dismissing Aryansh Sharma (8) and Vritiya Aravind (0). The double strike left UAE reeling and they never quite recovered from the early blows.

Rohan Mustafa (12) was the next wicket to fall, with Brandon McMullen knocking his stumps off. Asif Khan (17) could also not convert his start, perishing against Mark Watt.

The big wicket though came when Muhammad Waseem, who was looking good, was trapped lbw by Watt on 36. Sole would come back into the attack and scalp the wicket of Ali Naseer (19), who was looking dangerous.

At the halfway mark, UAE have a stiff challenge ahead, with the score at 117/6.

Michael Leask propelled Scotland to an unlikely victory off the last ball against Ireland at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023
Earlier in a must-win game for UAE, Muhammad Waseem won the toss at the Bulawayo Athletic Club and opted to field first. Scotland were without the service of their key player George Munsey, who was ruled out of the game because of an illness.

The call proved to be a correct one from Waseem, as UAE made early inroads with the ball, rocking the Scotland top-order. Junaid Siddique was the destroyer-in-chief, wreaking havoc with the new ball.

Siddique first trapped opener Christopher McBride lbw for 5 and then bowled Matthew Cross for 13. Ali Nasser and Zahoor Khan also provided great support, scalping the wickets of Brandon McMullen (4) and Tomas Mackintosh (11) respectively.

Skipper Richie Berrington and hero of Scotland's victory over Ireland, Michael Leask, then combined to stitch together a much-needed stand for Scotland. Their unbeaten stand of 52 ensured that there were no further hiccups for Scotland, as they reached a total of 100/4 at the halfway mark.

The partnership would eventually come to an end at the 67-run mark when Leask departed for a well-made 41, off Zahoor Khan. Skipper Berrington though kept on fighting, bringing up a half-century and knitting together another stand with Chris Greaves.

Greaves would be dismissed for 22 but Berrington kept leading the charge as he notched up a fabulous ton. Berrington's knock of 127 would come in only 136 deliveries and with a helping hand from Mark Watt (44*), Scotland posted a competitive total of 282/8 in their 50 overs for Oman to chase.

ICC

 

[MenInG]

HARARE, Zimbabwe – West Indies allrounder Yannic Cariah underwent a surgical procedure to repair a fracture to his nose. The leg-spinner and left-handed batter suffered a nasal fracture when he was struck in the face during a training session last Saturday while preparing for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe.

 

[sam_ahm]

Big match tomorrow between Zimbabwe and West Indies...

 

[sam_ahm]

Zim 268 all out.

WI need 269 to win this important game.

 

[MenInG]

Zim 268 all out.

WI need 269 to win this important game.

ZIM 268 (49.5)
WI 44/1 (8.3) CRR: 5.18 REQ: 5.42
West Indies need 225 runs

Not going to be that easy for WI.

 

[Babeikh]

Watching this game. The atmosphere in Harare seems incredible. Hats off to the Zimbabweans.

 

[sam_ahm]

WI 134/4. Game on here, Zimbabwe are nit giving up so easily!!!

Pooran is the key wicket.

 

[sam_ahm]

WI in control now at 167/4.

The crowd at Harare Sports Club is just amazing!

 

[sam_ahm]

WI 222/8 after 41.4

Absolute thriller on here at Harare!!!

World Cup qualification is on the line here.

 

[MenInG]

ZIM 268 (49.5)

WI 233 (44.4)

Zimbabwe won by 35 runs

==

 

[sam_ahm]

ZIMBABWE have beaten two time World Champions, the West Indies at the World Cup Qualifiers.

Unreal scenes at the Harare Sports Club.

What a competition this has been so far! Unbelievable stuff!!!

 

[Saj]

Another low for the once proud West Indies side.

There will come a time when they will stick to just playing T20s.

 

[Bangladesh_Fan]

Another low for the once proud West Indies side.

There will come a time when they will stick to just playing T20s.

West Indies could not qualify for the main round of the last world t20 even, finishing bottom of a group which contained associates.

 

[MenInG]

Group A of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 saw Zimbabwe take two crucial points to the Super Six stage after they beat West Indies, while Netherlands also secured a spot for the next stage of the tournament with a win over Nepal.

Tournament hosts Zimbabwe were on top of their game in all three disciplines to overcome the West Indies challenge. In the other game, a scintillating 90 off 75 from Max O'Dowd helped Netherlands chase a target of 168 in merely 27.1 overs.

Match 13: Zimbabwe won by 35 runs against West Indies.

Bolstered by support from the home crowd, Zimbabwe worked their way to a great win over West Indies at Harare.

Zimbabwe struck twice in the first 10 overs to make a comeback after Brandon King and Kyle Mayers had helped their side to an impressive start. After taking Tendai Chatara's third over for 14 runs, West Indies seemed to be in complete control of the first powerplay.

However, Blessing Muzarabani got a breakthrough in his very first over to remove King for 20. Zimbabwe got their second success when left-arm pacer Richard Ngrava got rid of Johnson Charles in the 10th over. They could've had another one off the last ball but the fielder missed a straightforward run out opportunity. The score was 55/2 at the end of first powerplay and it was still anyone's game.

Disciplined bowling from Zimbabwe ensured that the pressure increased on Shai Hope and Mayers, as the duo collected only eight runs between overs 11-14. However, Mayers struck a hat-trick of fours in the 15th over to lift West Indies.

The crucial third wicket stand of 64 from 67 helped West Indies get past 100. It was Wellington Masakadza who gave Craig Ervine's men their next success, when he had Mayers for 56 in the 21st over. Nicholas Pooran came in at no. 5 and continued in his characteristic free-flowing style. He got off the mark with a hat-trick of boundaries.

Nicholas Pooran reveals how he has overcome serious injury to find form for the West Indies at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023
However, any aspirations of another match-turning Hope-Pooran stand were nipped in the bud by the talismanic Sikandar Raza, who cleaned up Hope in the 24th over. Pooran (34) then struck a patient 41-run partnership with Roston Chase, but his dismissal in the 32nd over again changed the flavour of the game. Muzarabani got Rovman Powell in the very next over to put Zimbabwe on the top.

Having found a way into the West Indies tail, the Zimbabwe bowlers were relentless and kept going for wickets. Chatara made a brilliant comeback after a poor start to finish at 3/52, Raza added two wickets to another exceptional batting performance, while Richard Ngrava starred with wickets of Charles and Pooran.

Earlier, an important 87-run stand between Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl had helped Zimbabwe to a respectable total after West Indies had delivered crucial blows in the first half of their innings.

Neither side gained the upper hand in the first powerplay, as West Indies were without a wicket while Zimbabwe were restricted to under four runs an over. This was the first time in 10 ODIs, that West Indies were without a wicket in the powerplay overs.

While Zimbabwe managed to marginally increase their scoring rate hereafter, West Indies remained sharp on the field and held on to their chances. Joylord Gumbie (26) was lbw to Keemo Paul in the 16th over. Soon after, Wessly Madhevere (2) was caught at mid on off Akeal Hosein.

Zimbabwe would've hoped for the experienced pair of Craig Ervine and Sean Williams to come good in this tough hour. But their troubles compounded when Ervine fell to an ill-timed reverse sweep for 47.

Williams and Sikandar Raza then adopted an aggressive approach against West Indies bowlers. While this yielded quick runs, it also brought about the southpaw's demise. Williams fell for 23 when he tried to swipe a rising Alzarri Joseph delivery over the mid wicket in the 25th over.

Last game's record centurion Raza, then joined hands with Ryan Burl to revive Zimbabwe. The duo survived some close chances, before picking up pace and going for their shots. Their fifth wicket stand added 87 runs off 94 balls, before Burl fell lbw to Hosein for 50. Raza kept scoring at a brisk pace and brought up his half-century with back-to-back boundaries against Jason Holder in the 42nd over.

The all-rounder eventually fell for 68 after pulling a Kyle Mayers delivery to Joseph in the deep. The West Indies bowlers fought back in the final powerplay to pick six wickets, though slack work towards the end helped the final pair to add 25 runs off 15 balls.

Earlier, West Indies won the toss, and decided to bowl first. Both sides went into the game without any changes.

Historically, the Men in Maroon have dominated Zimbabwe in the ODI format, with 36 wins in 49 games but they'll know that the hosts have been in exceptional touch in the tournament.


Match 14: Netherlands won the game by seven wickets against Nepal

After their bowlers had bowled out Nepal for 167, Max O'Dowd & co. ensured that there were no slip-ups in the Dutch batting effort. With this Netherlands have qualified for the Super Six, while Nepal's World Cup qualification hopes have ended.

After scoring merely one run in the first three overs of their chase, Netherlands openers took off. Max O'Dowd and Vikramjit Singh blasted 86 runs off the first 13 overs before the latter fell the Sandeep Lamichhane (2/60). While Vikramjit (30) had three fours and one six to his name, O'Dowd was even more aggressive, striking four fours and sixes during their partnership. He brought up his fifty in merely 30 balls.

This blistering start had already helped the Dutch to 97 in the first 15 overs. Despite losing Wesley Barresi in the 15th over, the batting side looked in complete control of the chase.

Along with Bas de Leede, O'Dowd added 62 for the third wicket to get Dutch near the finishing line. Unfortunately, O'Dowd was bowled by Gulsan Jha in the 27th over and couldn't be around when his side finished the game.

The Nepal innings never got going as the Dutch bowlers struck regularly and restricted the sub-continental side to a sub-par total.

Nepal batters had to contend against a high quality new-ball spell from the Logan van Beek and Ryan Klein. The duo got the ball to jag around and beat the bat on several occasions. Nepal were 23 for the loss of Aasif Sheikh at the end of first powerplay.

This conservative start was followed by a terrible slide as Nepal lost three batters in a space of 21 balls. Two of these wickets were picked by Vikramjit Singh, who consistently troubled the Nepal batters with his uneven bounce. Rohit Paudel and Kushal Malla then tried to stabilise the innings.

This didn't last for long as Malla fell to Aryan Dutt in the 26th over. The ball skied down the ground between the long off and long on region, where despite confusion between Teja Nidamanaru and Max O'Dowd, the catch was successfully taken by the former. Hereafter, Paudel tried to bring some initiative to the Nepal innings, hitting a few boundaries to increase the scoring rate.

But van Beek returned to account for both Paudel and Dipendra Singh Airee, to leave Nepal at 123 for seven. Sandeep Lamichhane (27) threw his bat around for the next few overs to add some quick runs, but the Asian side weren't even able to bat out their allotted overs.

Scott Edwards called it right at the toss, and chose to field. The Dutch were unchanged going into the game, while Nepal also backed the XI which lost the encounter against West Indies.

ICC

 

[Babeikh]

Huge huge problems for Windies. Looking a very real prospect that they won't qualify for the world cup. Don't want that to happen but if it does I hope it is the wake up call they need

 

[Asif321]

Want to see Zimbabwe in WC

 

[sam_ahm]

Big outrage now on social media on why the WC is reduced to only 10 teams, because now former world champions are in danger of missing out.

Truth is that last time in 2018 too, Zimbabwe, Scotland and Ireland came very close to qualifying and absolutely deserved to be there but no one cared then because no one cares for smaller cricketing nations.

People just keep making fun of Zimbabwe without understanding the difficulties and challenges their cricketers go through, and same for all smaller cricketing nations.

 

[Saj]

Huge huge problems for Windies. Looking a very real prospect that they won't qualify for the world cup. Don't want that to happen but if it does I hope it is the wake up call they need

I think West Indies cricket has gone past the wake-up call stage.

Most of their players could not care less and are happy playing T20 cricket wherever they can.

 

[MenInG]

WEST INDIES PENALISED FOR SLOW OVER-RATE AGAINST ZIMBABWE

The West Indies have been fined 60 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Zimbabwe in their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier match in Harare on Saturday.

Muhammad Javed of the ICC International Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanctions after the West Indies were ruled to be three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

Captain Shai Hope pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Sam Nogajski and Ravindra Wimalasari, third umpire Roland Black and fourth umpire Allahudien Palekar levelled the charge.

 

[MenInG]

After the drama of Group A yesterday kept the cricket world on its toes, the race for Super Six spots in Group B takes another turn in Sunday action.

Sri Lanka and Scotland followed imperious batting performances with disciplined bowling displays to dominate the second half of their respective contests.

Sri Lanka outshined Ireland in all three departments. With this result, Sri Lanka make it to Super Six stage of the Qualifier while Ireland are out of the World Cup race.

Despite early fall of openers Paul Stirling (6) and Andy McBrine (17), Ireland tried to keep with the asking rate and finished their first powerplay at 56/2. Wanindu Hasaranga, Sri Lanka's premier performer with ball in the Qualifier, struck in his very first over to remove the Ireland skipper, Andrew Balbirnie. Dasun Shanaka followed this up with the wicket of Lorcan Tucker, and the Ireland chase was in peril.

Harry Tector (33) and Curtis Campher (39) provided last hope to Ireland but their dismissals by the 20-over mark left the Men in Green on the verge of a massive defeat. Ireland's tail took the aggressive route but couldn't survive the guile of Hasaranga who finished with 5/79.

This was his third consecutive five-wicket haul in ODIs. With this, Hasaranga equals the world record for most consecutive five-fors in ODIs with Waqar Younis.

Sri Lanka hit the accelerator early on, and didn't let up the pressure against Ireland. This was their second score in excess of 300 in the tournament.

Positive batting from Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne helped Sri Lanka get off to a flyer. The duo went run-a-ball for their stand of 48 before Nissanka fell to a mistimed pull against the incoming Barry McCarthy. The very next ball, McCarthy got one to angle in and trapped Kusal Mendis lbw for a duck. Sri Lanka were 58 for two at the end of first powerplay.

Sadeera Samarawickrama and Karunaratne kept their foot on the pedal as Sri Lanka's scoring rate went above six runs an over. Karunaratne brought up his fifty during this stand. This was his third consecutive half-century in the tournament.

Samarawickrama brought up a half-century of his own in the 22nd over, even as the duo brought up their century stand off merely 90 balls.

Karunaratne-Samarawickrama continued going great guns after the 25-over mark, even as Ireland didn't help their case with poor work in the field, including a couple of dropped catches. By the time, Gareth Delany had accounted for Samarawickrama (82) in the 36th over, Sri Lanka were 216/3. Karunaratne brought up his maiden ODI century in the very next over, but couldn't continue for long. He was cleaned up by Mark Adair for 103.

Charith Asalanka (38) and Dhananjaya de Silva (42*) played important knocks towards the end, but Sri Lanka's tail failed to wag. They fell way short of 350, which seemed like a strong possibility while Karunaratne and Samarawickrama were at the crease.

Andrew Balbirnie called it right at the toss and bowled first at the Queens Sports Club in a must-win match to keep their dreams of India 2023 alive.

Ireland spinner George Dockrell is making the most of his reinvention into an all-rounder during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023
In team news, Ireland leg-spinner Ben White pulled out of today's match after an injury in the warm-up, and was replaced by Barry McCarthy. Sri Lanka opted for the same side which beat Oman by 10 wickets.


Match 16: Scotland- 320 all out (50) vs Oman- 102/5 (30), Bulawayo Athletic Club

Oman got off to a slow start, with Kashyap Prajapati and Jatinder Singh adding merely 25 runs in the first 10 overs. The pent-up pressure led to Prajapati's fall in the 11th over when centurion McMullen cleaned him up. Soon after, Jatinder (14) also fell to Adrian Neil.

Zeeshan Maqsood and Aqib Ilyas then held the innings together with a 32-run stand, before Maqsood went for a slog sweep and was bowled by Michael Leask. One brought two as Aqib Ilyas was accounted for by Mark Watt in the very next over.

A resilient stand for the fifth wicket between Mohammad Nadeem and Ayaan Khan added 30 runs. With Nadeem's fall in the 30th over, Oman had lost half their side and needed almost 11 runs an over to win the game.

Earlier in the day, Scotland overcame a jittery start to post a challenging total against Oman.

Bilal Khan gave Oman the perfect start when he trapped Christopher McBride lbw off the very third ball of the game. Scotland found the going tough against a disciplined new-ball effort from the Gulf side, and could muster merely two runs off their first four overs.

Matthew Cross and Brandon McMullen gradually settled in and picked up the scoring rate. The duo added 82 runs and McMullen brought up his half-century, comprising of four fours and three sixes, during the stand.

In the 19th over, Jay Odedra finally brought a breakthrough for Oman when he got Cross (27) to play on a delivery. Skipper Richie Berrington then joined hands with McMullen and steadied the innings. With time, Berrington grew comfortable at the wicket, while McMullen continued at a swift pace. The latter brought up his maiden ODI century in the 32nd over. The pair added 100 runs off merely 97 balls.

After McMullen's ton, Scotland batted with extra urgency, adding 58 runs in overs 33-38. Berrington brought up his 17th ODI fifty in this period.

The Scotland captain was finally run out in the 39th over when trying to take a run off a misfield. A few overs later, McMullen (136) also fell to Bilal while trying to up the scoring rate. A couple of more strikes by Bilal pegged the Scottish innings back. But crucial contributions from Tomas Mackintosh (32) and Mark Watt (25) late in the game helped the European side cross 300. Bilal was the pick of Oman bowlers and finished at 5/55.

Earlier, Oman won the toss and elected to bowl against Scotland. Richie Berrington's men boast a 4-1 winning record in six ODIs across League 2 (one no result).

Zeeshan Maqsood confirmed that the Omanis come in with an unchanged side despite their heavy defeat to Sri Lanka, while Scotland opted to include fast bowler Adrian Neill. George Munsey sat out of the game with a stomach bug.

It's fair to say Ireland will also be keeping an eye on this fixture, where they would probably need a favourable result to help their chances. Scotland maintained an unbeaten run with a big net run rate-boosting win over UAE, and squeezed past the Irish in their first match.

The match is Oman's last match of the group stage, and a defeat today could mean a nervous watch if Ireland were to roll over the Sri Lankans next door today.

ICC

 

[MenInG]

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe – A century from Dimuth Karaunaratne, and a half-century from Sadeera Samarawickrama saw Sri Lanka effectively end Ireland Men’s dreams of involvement at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Mark Adair – who took his 50th career ODI wicket when he caught and bowled Lahiru Kamara – Barry McCarthy and Gareth Delany all bowled well as Ireland bounced back well after a slow start.

Having lost their opening two matches, to Oman and Scotland, Ireland headed into this game needing a win to keep their slim hopes of reaching the Super Six stage of the competition alive, and having won the toss, Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie sent Sri Lanka in to bat.

From the outset Sri Lanka looked dominant as they raced away to 31-0 after the first three overs. Ireland responded with back-to-back maidens from Adair and McCarthy, before the latter - playing in his first ODI since 2021 - removed both Prathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis with successive deliveries in the ninth over, Sri Lanka was then 48-2.

Karaunaratne and Samarawickrama both settled in and comfortably reached their half-centuries - Karunaratne his fifth consecutive ODI fifty in the 21st over and Samarawickrama followed up with his third ODI fifty two overs later. The pair went on to score 168 for the third wicket as Ireland couldn’t find a breakthrough with the two set batters.

The partnership was final broken when Delany removed Samarawickrama for 82, as Harry Tector grabbed the ball high in the air with the first ball of the 36th over, with Sri Lanka 216-3. Karunaratne went on to score his maiden ODI century in the 37th over with a single down to third.

Late on, Ireland’s bowlers hit back, taking 7-109 in the final 15 overs as Sri Lanka posted 325 all out.

In reply, Ireland’s response suffered from the loss of regular wickets, despite keeping up with the required run rate required.

A wonderful one-handed catch by wicket-keeper Mendis saw Paul Stirling dismissed early on, and Ireland found themselves two down in the seventh over when Andy McBrine scooped one to Kusal Rajitha in the deep. Despite the loss of those early wickets Ireland were 53-2 after 9 overs – the exact same score as Sri Lanka were at the same stage of their innings.

Andrew Balbirine (12) was trapped lbw, while Lorcan Tucker went for a duck as Ireland were 58-4 and searching for a partnership.

However, a noteworthy partnership never materialised, as Wanindu Hasaranga put on a spinners masterclass for the Sri Lankans, including taking the wicket of Tector when he was looking comfortable.

Curtis Campher continued where he left off against Scotland, hammering the ball all over the ground – scoring 39 runs – before he top-edged one to Mendis in the 20th over with Ireland 116-6 after 20 overs, with Ireland‘s world cup dreams seemingly dashed.

Quick-fire knocks from Delany and Little kept the scoreboard ticking over. Little hit a massive six off Hasaranga, but the Sri Lankan spinner got his revenge with the very next ball, as he caught and bowled Little to claim his five-wicket haul, as Ireland were bowled out for 192 with 19 overs remaining.

Ireland will play their final qualifier against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, 27 June at 8am Ireland time.


MATCH SUMMARY

Ireland Men v Sri Lanka Men, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Queen’s Sports Club, Bulawayo, 25 June 2023

Sri Lanka 325 (49.5 overs; D Karunaratne 103, S Samarawickrama 82; M Adair 4-46)
Ireland 192 (31 overs; C Campher 39, H Tector 33; W Hasaranga 5-79)

Sri Lanka won by 133 runs

 

[Mesozoic]

Sri Lanka have just decimated these smaller sides in this tournament.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Sri Lanka are going to finish in the top 4 in India. They have everything in them to beat the non-Asian sides on Indian wickets.

 

[MenInG]

The six standout teams have confirmed their spots in the next stage of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 but crunch clashes are still to be played in the group phase with crucial carry-over points on the line.

The teams set to progress to the Super Six stage of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 have been confirmed with Sri Lanka, Scotland and Oman booking their spots alongside Zimbabwe, Netherlands, and the West Indies.

ICC

 

[MenInG]

This is the second-highest margin of victory in men's ODI history

 

[MenInG]

IRELAND PENALISED FOR SLOW OVER-RATE AGAINST SRI LANKA

Ireland have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Sri Lanka in their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier match in Bulawayo on Sunday.

Shaid Wadvalla of the ICC International Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Ireland were ruled to be two overs short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

Captain Andrew Balbirnie pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Gregory Brathwaite and Wayne Knights, third umpire Langton Rusere and fourth umpire Aleem Dar levelled the charge.

 

[Babeikh]

Netherlands making a real game of this chase at the moment

 

[sam_ahm]

Netherlands making a real game of this chase at the moment

Yeah this is turning out to be quite a run chase.

 

[Babeikh]

Phenomenal chase by NL. Was torn at the end there because I don't want WI to fail to qualify but tremendous spirit by NL to tie the game.

A lot of soul searching needed for Windies before Super 6. They will need to win every game (incl SL) and hope other results go their way

 

[Babeikh]

Oh wait it goes to a Super Over....not over yet

 

[CricLegend]

Holder has been decimated. Take a bow van beek

 

[Mesozoic]

It's all over now.

One of the finest wins in Netherlands cricket history.

 

[Mesozoic]

And with that, West Indies are all but out of the World Cup.

 

[Babeikh]

Unbelievable from NL.

Don't know what to say about West Indies. Saj made a fair point about them being beyond wake up call territory but don't want this to be the end of West Indies cricket.

 

[jnaveen1980]

wow what a heist by Netherlands. At one point they gave hope and then they were out. Van Beek stepped up both during main phase and super over phase.

 

[sam_ahm]

God Almighty! What did I see!????

I'm Stunned.

375 matched and then 30 runs off the super over. Is this for real????

OH MY GOD!!!

And the ICC want us to believe that we fans deserve a 10 team World Cup!! WOW!!

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Windies have to beat all of SL, Oman and Scotland to have any chance of qualifying. 2 wins may not be enough considering Scotland's NRR and the fact that Netherlands will at least beat Oman and they also have an NRR higher than Windies. Shambles of a campaign.

 

[BDfanforever]

All the leagues big bucks player like Little, Holder got smashed in the tournament.

 

[sam_ahm]

Windies have to beat all of SL, Oman and Scotland to have any chance of qualifying. 2 wins may not be enough considering Scotland's NRR and the fact that Netherlands will at least beat Oman and they also have an NRR higher than Windies. Shambles of a campaign.

Lol, even 3 wins may not be enough for them as Zimbabwe have 4 points already and face Oman and Scotland in the Super 6 where they are heavy favorites. SL are top favorites anyways.

Netherlands ans Scotland can still challenge though.

I mean I hope you know only 2 teams make it to the World Cup, and not 4.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Lol, even 3 wins may not be enough for them as Zimbabwe have 4 points already and face Oman and Scotland in the Super 6 where they are heavy favorites. SL are top favorites anyways.

Netherlands ans Scotland can still challenge though.

I mean I hope you know only 2 teams make it to the World Cup, and not 4.

You're right. I assumed there were semis and 4 teams would go through from Super 6's. Apparently, only top 2 teams go through directly to a final.

 

[light]

This maybe the end of WI's wc dream, lol. Surely ZIM and SL will play the main event after this pathetic display of wtv cricket they are playing. So many dropped catches in this match.