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Which teams can qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2023

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2 years ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Sri Lanka – QUALIFIED

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

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

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

2. Scotland

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

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: Great

3. Zimbabwe

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

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

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: None

4. Netherlands

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

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

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: Low

5. West Indies

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

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: None 

6. Oman

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

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

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

Likelihood of qualification: None

(ICC)

 


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Amin, bowlers leave West Indies Women’s World Cup hopes hanging by a thread

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22 hours ago

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2025/04/15

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File photo: Sidra Amin scored 54 in Pakistan's total of 191 [Cricinfo]

West Indies’ ODI World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after they slumped to a second defeat in three matches in the qualifier in Lahore. They were beaten by 65 runs by hosts Pakistan, who have moved to the top of the points table, and are undefeated in the event so far as they remain on track for the Women’s World Cup.

Both teams, though, still have to play unbeaten Bangladesh and win-less Thailand. West Indies, meanwhile, have to win their remaining two matches, and hope other results go their way to help them get to the World Cup.

After bowling Pakistan out for 191, West Indies would have felt their bowlers had done most of the hard work against a line-up that continues to struggle to build partnerships and score quickly. Pakistan had no half-century stands – their highest was 47 runs for the second wicket between Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin – and no one in their top five had a strike rate over 60. But a quality bowling attack and much improved fielding helped Pakistan defend what seemed a bowler-par total for the second time in the campaign.

Captain Fatima Sana led from the front, and after holding herself back until the 24th over against Scotland, took the new ball under lights in this game. Her first delivery was full and straight, and clipped the top of  Hayley Matthews’  back pad. As a result, Sana had her opposite number out for a first-ball duck. Matthews looked disappointed with the decision, but with no reviews at the qualifier, she could only trudge off.

The experienced Shemaine Campbelle was sent out ahead of Zaida James at No. 3 but was run-out for the second time in the tournament. Campbelle tucked a delivery from Sadia Iqbal on the leg side, and set off for a single, but didn’t account for Sidra Nawaz’s speed. Keeping wicket in place of Muneeba, who has been left to focus on her batting, Nawaz charged off to field the ball, and her direct hit caught Campbelle out of her ground.

Three overs later, West Indies had another mishap. Diana Baig appealed for an lbw against Jannillea Glasgow as the ball bobbled to slip. Glasgow and James took the opportunity to steal a run, but Nawaz was quick to see them hesitate and called for the ball while the umpire was still deciding on the appeal. Nawaz ran James out to leave West Indies at 29 for 3, but with Stafanie Taylor still in the hut. Taylor had taken ill in the field, and could not come out to bat until an hour and a quarter into the innings, or until West Indies were five down, whichever came first.

That is why Chinelle Henry walked out to bat at No. 5, and joined Glasgow. Henry slapped the first ball she faced for four, and hit two more boundaries in her first seven balls.

Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu was brought on in the 12th over, and dismised Glasgow and Henry in the space of three balls to all but end West Indies’ hopes. They were 54 for 5 when Taylor walked in, before she shared a 34-run sixth wicket stand with Shabika Gajnabi. Taylor started to look threatening when she hit Rameen Shamim back over her head for six but was caught by Muneeba at short fine leg, and West Indies had no senior batters left.

Sana came back to take two late wickets, and finished with figures of 3 for 16. She is now joint-second on the tournament’s wicket-takers’ list, and just behind Matthews, who has ten wickets. That will be scant consolation to Matthews, who had Gull Feroza out early and took 2 for 30 in ten overs in this match, given the state West Indies find themselves in.

Though their bowling was tight, and only Karishma Ramharack conceded above five runs an over, their batting has let them down. After finishing World Cup 2022 as semi-finalists, they could miss out on the 2025 edition altogether after losses to Scotland and Pakistan.

West Indies have two days off before their next match against Bangladesh, and will want to use that time to address their batting concerns, including whether to bring Qiana Joseph back into the XI. Pakistan, too, will have some worries about their batting. Muneeba laboured to 33 off 60 balls, and Amin took 86 balls to get to fifty, but they anchored the innings.

No other batter scored more than Sidra Nawaz’s 23, and the middle order’s inconsistency is something they will want to address in coming games. Pakistan play Thailand on Thursday, and then play Bangladesh in their final game on Saturday.

Should Pakistan qualify for the World Cup, their matches will take place outside of India, in accordance with the hybrid model agreed on by the BCCI and PCB earlier this year.

Brief scores:
Pakistan Women 191 in 49.5 overs (Muneeba Ali 33, Sidra Amin 54, Aliya Riyaz 20, Sidra Nawaz 23; Hayley Matthews 2-30, Afy Fletcher 2-39, Karishma Ramharak 2-55) beat West Indies Women 126 in 39.2 overs (Aaliya Alleyne 22, Shabika Gajnabi 21;  Fatima Sana 3-16, Rameen Shamim 2-26, Nashra Sandhu 2-31) by 65 runs

[Cricinfo]

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IPL 2025: Dhoni, Jadeja snap Chennai Super King’s losing streak

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22 hours ago

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2025/04/15

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MS Dhoni and Shivam Dube bump fists in the middle [BCCI]

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were staring at the prospect of losing a sixth game in a row when MS Dhoni joined Shivam Dube with five overs left in the chase. But Dhoni won the battle against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seamers with an 11-ball 26 while Dube made 43 to give them their second win in seven outings.

LSG captain Rishabh Pant felt right after the game that LSG were “10-15 runs short” in their first-innings effort. Despite Pant’s own 49-ball 63, his first half-century in LSG colours, they scored only 166 for 7 in 20 overs, their lowest total of the season. They were pegged back by Ravindra Jadeja’s two wickets and kept in check by Noor Ahmed’s miserly four overs that went for only 13 runs.

After CSK’s opening partnership put them on course early, LSG dragged the game back with their spinners. Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi and part-time offspinner Aiden Markram produced combined figures of 11-0-80-4, but a 19-run over from Shardul Thakur in the penultimate over ended LSG’s hopes.

When Dhoni walked in at the 15th over, Dube had made only 17 in his first 20 balls. Dube had failed to boss the spinners like his usual self and the dismissals of Vijay Shankar and Jadeja had only added to the pressure.

But Dhoni enjoys pace, coming into the game with a strike-rate of 222 against seamers since IPL 2024, and LSG supplied him with just that. Despite one over of Bishnoi left, LSG went for Avesh Khan and Shardul Thakur, and their wide yorker plan to both batters ended up being predictable.

Dhoni edged a couple of fours down to deep third but showed his power by punching a boundary through the covers, flicking a full toss over midwicket and dragging a one-handed six over deep square leg.

He also ran his ones and twos, sometimes gingerly, with Dube and took the pressure off him. When Shardul bowled two full tosses at the start of the 19th over, Dube smacked him for four and a no-ball six.

Dhoni picked up his first IPL player-of-the-match award since 2019 while Dube, soon after hitting the winning runs, said he was proud of taking the game deep. Their partnership of 57 came in only 28 balls.

Shaik Rasheed’s skills were never in doubt. He is a former Under-19 World Cup-winning vice-captain, has a Syed Mushtaq Ali century and a double ton in first-class cricket. It’s for those reasons CSK have kept a close eye on him since IPL 2023.

With Devon Conway not among the runs, CSK gave Rasheed an IPL debut and he took strike to start the chase. By the second over, he had pumped three fours off Akash Deep, with one flick over midwicket described on the broadcast as “Virat Kohli-like.”

His 19-ball 27 with six fours helped CSK reach fifty in only 4.2 overs, and alongside Rachin Ravindra’s 22-ball 37, gave them a rare successful opening stand. Those runs proved crucial as a collapse against spin soon followed.

With a strike-rate of 80 and a high score of 21 this season, Pant needed to get going. He walked-in in the fourth over with Markram and Nicholas Pooran out to Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj cheaply.

He started on a positive note, improvising a reverse lap over third man early for six along with a handful of contorted pulls and cuts. But his strike-rate of 165 plummeted to 103 when CSK’s spinners applied the squeeze. Pant saw wickets fall from the other end, and ended up playing ten dots in 15 balls against Noor, scoring only six runs. His strike rate of 40 against the purple-cap holder ended up being the second worst for any batter against a bowler in IPL (minimum15 balls).

However, from 40 in 39 balls, Pant found his touch against the pace-on options of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel to turn his innings around. He couldn’t stay till the end, though, and the CSK spinners’ effort ensured LSG could make only 166 on a day where their second-highest individual score was Mitchell Marsh’s 30.

Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 in 19.3 overs (Shaik Rasheed 27, Rachin Ravindra 37, Shivam Dube 43*, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 26*; Digvesh Rathi 1-23, Avesh Khan 1-32, Ravi Bishnoi 2-18, Aiden Markram 1-25) beat Lucknow Super Giants 166 for 7 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 30, Rishabh Pant 63, Ayush Badoni 22, Abdul Samad 20; Khaleel Ahmed 1-38, Anshul Kamboj 1-20, Ravindra  Jadeja 2-24, Matheesha Pathirana 2-45) by five wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Therapuththa National School Amabalanthota reach finals of Under 19 division III Tier B limited over cricket tournament

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2 days ago

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2025/04/14

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The Therapuththa National School Under 19 cricket team with offficials

Therapuththa National School Ambalanthota reached the final of the Under 19 division III Tier B limited over cricket tournament conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association

The Therapuththa team captained by N M Senura Daksitha was selected from  P A Imanga Rashmika, M P Akash Udayanga, M B Senuth Daritha, J G Pramith Hasintha, A J A Senuth  Kithmina, K G Pathum Dilshan, Jayasinghe Sathira, H W Ashan Chamika, U M Senuka Dineth Ransara, B G Didun Nethsara, J H Yasith Pinsara, A Y Rahal Lakkitha, U H Yashmin Ashinsana Kulathilaka, T H Malindu Prabashwara, O P Samudya Charunya, Nethindu Thamudina, P P G Sadeep Lakshan, and A L G Sanuth Sandera.

The team was coached by P A Leelananda Kumarasiri together with J M Kokum Induma and T G Kavindu Keshika.

As the Under 19 division III Tier B final between Therapuththta National School Ambalanthota and Nenamal Royal International School Kelaniya, which was to be played  at the Army ground Diyagama on 10th April was abandoned without a toss due to rain,  both teams were named joint champions. A total of 282 teams participated in this years Under 19 division III  tournament

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