Sports

Which teams can qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2023

Published

2 years ago

2023/07/4

Priyan

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Sri Lanka – QUALIFIED

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

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

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

2. Scotland

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

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: Great

3. Zimbabwe

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

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

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: None

4. Netherlands

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

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

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: Low

5. West Indies

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

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: None

6. Oman

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: None

(ICC)

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Related Topics:ICC World Cup 2023 ICC World Cup 2023 Qualifier Netherlands Oman Scotland sri lanka West Indies Zimbabwe

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Sri Lanka squad named for ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup

Published

6 hours ago

2025/12/10

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Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee has named a 15-member squad to participate in the upcoming ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup (50 Over).

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Sports

Hospital CCTV helps clear long jumper of doping

Published

7 hours ago

2025/12/10

Priyan

Wang Jianan won gold at the World Championships in Oregon in 2022 [BBC]

China’s world champion long jumper Wang Jianan has been cleared of doping after a review of hospital CCTV footage.

Wang, 29, became the first Asian man to win world long jump gold with his 8.36m leap in Oregon in 2022.

He failed an out-of-competition doping test in November 2024, which showed traces of terbutaline – a drug primarily used to treat and prevent breathing problems in patients with asthma.

The China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) said the presence of the drug had been caused by passive inhalation while Wang was accompanying a relative to hospital for nebuliser treatment.

Chinada decided Wang bore no fault or negligence for the violation and would not be banned.

The decision was reviewed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which used hospital security footage and patient records to investigate Wang’s movements before his drug test.

The AIU’s investigation sought opinion from an independent scientific expert, who concluded “a passive transfer of the substance to the athlete could not be excluded”.

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[BBC]

Latest News

Tickner and Rae bowl West Indies out for 205 to give New Zealand the edge

Published

8 hours ago

2025/12/10

Priyan

Blair Tickner picked up four of the first five wickets to fall [Cricinfo]

New Zealand’s patchwork fast-bowling attack delivered a strong show on the opening day of the second Test in Wellington, dismissing West Indies for 205 inside 75 overs at Basin Reserve. But the sight of Blair Tickner being stretchered off late in the afternoon with a suspected dislocated left shoulder took some sheen off their day of dominance.

Tickner, playing his first Test in two years and leading the bowling with 4 for 32, was central to turning a bright West Indies start into yet another collapse, while Michael Rae, the 30-year-old debutant drafted into a severely depleted pace unit, complemented him with 3 for 67 in an energetic outing that gave New Zealand the bite they had lacked in the opening hour. That bite mattered because the first hour had belonged entirely to West Indies despite losing the toss, in a match where the hosts announced five changes and the visitors three.

On a pitch far milder than the traditional green seamer, John Campbell and Brandon King put on 66 for the opening wicket. Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes, burdened with heavy workloads from the first Test after the injuries to Matt Henry and Nathan Smith in Christchurch, bowled honest but ineffective spells that allowed scoring opportunities.

Campbell drove through the line, King played compactly, and West Indies looked assured.

But once New Zealand turned to Tickner and Rae – fresher workload-wise, and sharper in pace – the difference was visible. They operated either full or short but always at the stumps or the body, and the tone of the innings shifted dramatically.

Tickner was the first to strike when he prised out King in the 17th over. King, playing the Test after Tagenarine Chanderpaul picked up a side strain on the eve of the Test, and opening for only the second time in his Test career, was pinned lbw when Tickner’s delivery from a short-ish length jagged in and hit him on the pad. One over later, Kavem Hodge was undone for a duck by a fuller ball from Tickner that tailed in late and struck him in front of middle and leg. The double-blow helped New Zealand quickly erase an indifferent start heading into the lunch break.

Rae, who had leaked runs in his first spell in Test cricket, made an impact after lunch. Coming around the wicket, he angled a full ball across Campbell, who leaned into a drive with firm hands and edged to first slip, and at 93 for 3, West Indies’ position was slipping.

Shai Hope and Roston Chase attempted to restore stability with a 60-run stand for the fourth wicket. Hope scored freely but never convincingly; Tickner and Rae repeatedly hurried him with the short ball, and he took two blows to the helmet with concussion checks following as the afternoon surface grew livelier. Hope reached 48, but Tickner finally cracked him with another rising delivery that he tried awkwardly to fend off, gloving a catch to Kane Williamson at third slip. That, Tickner’s third wicket, had seemed almost inevitable given the sustained discomfort he had caused the batters, and Chase followed soon after, cramped by a Tickner delivery that jagged in sharply to catch the inside-edge on to leg stump for 29.

Justin Greaves, West Indies’ double-centurion in Christchurch, lasted 52 balls before Rae drew a faint outside edge with a tight off-stump line. Mitchell Hay completed the catch behind the stumps, leaving West Indies’ lower order exposed. Rae then trapped Kemar Roach lbw with a fuller delivery that kicked enough to beat the bat and straighten into middle stump, and at 184 for 7, the innings was in freefall.

But New Zealand’s mood would sour dramatically in the next over. Tickner sprinted across from fine leg to stop a boundary-saving flick from Tevin Imlach and dived full-length near the rope. He landed awkwardly, stayed down, and the players signalled urgently as medical staff from both New Zealand and the venue rushed to him. After several minutes of treatment, he was stretchered off – sitting up, but in pain – to warm applause from the Basin Reserve crowd. He later left the ground in an ambulance, with early indications pointing to a suspected dislocated shoulder.

Glenn Phillips, the most prolific wicket-taker in New Zealand’s XI with 31 strikes coming into the game, then removed the last recognised batter, bowling Imlach with a fuller ball that straightened just enough to beat the inside edge.

Anderson Phillip was run out soon after attempting a risky single – first surviving a throw from Devon Conway but then succumbing when an alert Kristian Clarke broke the stumps on the rebound. Duffy ended West Indies’ innings by having Ojay Shields edge to third slip to end the innings at 205. West Indies lost their last seven wickets for just 52 runs.

New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Conway batted nine overs before stumps, with West Indies’ seamers asking questions occasionally and inducing a couple of edges that didn’t carry to the slip cordon. The 24 runs they added before stumps gave New Zealand the firm upper hand, now behind by only 181 behind going into the second day where batting promises to be easier.

Brief scores:[Day 1 Stumps]
New Zealand 24 for no loss (Devon Conway 16*, Tom Latham 7*) trail West Indies 205 in 75 overs (Shai Hope 48, John Campbell 44; Blair Tickner 4-32, Michael Rae 3-67) by 181 runs

[Cricinfo]