Cricket News: ICC ODI World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe 2023 – schedule and where to watch | Format for ODI WC Qualifiers
The Qualifiers for ICC Men’s ODI World Cup will begin on June 18, 2023 in Zimbabwe. Ten teams will be participating in this tournament and they will be pitted in two groups of five each.
Group A will comprise Zimbabwe, West Indies, Netherlands, Nepal and the United States of America (USA). On the other hand, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Scotland make up Group B.
Where to Watch?
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 will be televised live on the Star Sports Network and will be streamed digitally on the Disney+Hostar application and website in India.
ICC ODI World Cup Qualifier 2023 tournament format
Every team will play each side from their respective group once. The top three teams from both groups will progress to the Super Six stage. In the Super Six, teams will have to lock horns with opponents they did not face in the group stage. However, the points won in the group stages will be carried over to the Super Six round.
However, there is a small caveat here. Only the points that were won against teams that made it to the Super Six stage will be carried over. Further, the finalists from the both the teams will qualify for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup that will be held in India October 5, 2023 – November 19, 2023.
The 34 qualifying tournament games will be held in four venues, namely Queen’s Sports Club, Bulawayo Athletic Club, Harare Sports Club and Takashinga Cricket Club. Harare Sports Club will host the final whereas the warm-up games will be held in the Old Hararians Cricket Club.
“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,” ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice was officially quoted speaking about the tournament.
Schedule of the qualifier fixtures and the warm-up games:
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
Main Tournament:
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