Cricket News India – The International Cricket Council (ICC) has finally announced the much-anticipated schedule for the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers. All the participating teams have confirmed their availability to schedule the event. A total of 10 nations will battle it out for the two positions in the marquee event that will take place in India in October-November. The ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 will take place from 18th June to 9th July 2023. The Qualifiers will be hosted by Zimbabwe. Each match will be of crucial importance to all the nations in order to qualify for the heavyweight championship.
The 10 participating teams at the World Cup Qualifiers will be divided into groups of two. Group A will comprise hosts Zimbabwe, the West Indies, the Netherlands, Nepal, and the United States of America. Group B will have Sri Lanka, Scotland, Oman, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates.
Here are the rules pertaining to the conducting of the ICC World Cup 2023 Qualifiers:
- Each team will face off against the other teams in their groups once. The top three teams from each group will qualify for the Super Six.
- The Super Six will see battles between the sides who haven’t faced each other in the group stage.
- All the points earned in the group stage will be carried forward to the Super Six apart from those gained against the teams that failed to progress in Super Six.
The Top two teams in the Super Six will make it to the Finals. The finalists of the championship will eventually qualify for the World Cup 2023.
A total of 34 matches will be conducted in a span of 21 Days. Four dedicated venues will host the event, namely:
Queen’s Sports Club, Bulawayo
Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
Harare Sports Club, Harare
Takashinga Cricket Club, Harare
The inaugural fixture of the Qualifiers will witness a stunning contest between hosts Zimbabwe and Nepal at the Harare Sports Club. Simultaneously, two-time World Cup winners will take on the debutants USA at the Takashinga Cricket Club. In Group B, 1996 World Cup winners Sri Lanka will initiate the proceedings as they will take on UAE at the Queen’s Sports Club on June 19. Simultaneously, Scotland will lock horns with arch-rivals Netherlands at the Bulawayo Sports Club. Notably, the Decision Review System (DRS) will be applicable for all the qualifiers games for the first time in the history of the championship.
Here is the schedule of the ICC World Cup 2023 Qualifiers:
ICC MEN’S CRICKET WORLD CUP 2023 QUALIFIER FIXTURES
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 World Cup 2023 Qualifiers: WARM-UP FIXTURES
Tuesday, 13 June
West Indies v Scotland, Harare Sports Club
Zimbabwe v Oman, Takashinga Cricket Club
Nepal v UAE, Old Hararians Cricket Club
Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Queen’s Sports Club
Ireland v USA, Bulawayo Athletic Club
Thursday, 15 June
Nepal v Oman, Harare Sports Club
West Indies v UAE, Takashinga Cricket Club
Zimbabwe v Scotland, Old Hararians Cricket Club
Ireland v Netherlands, Queen’s Sports Club
Sri Lanka v USA, Bulawayo Athletic Club
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