The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 will start in Harare. The managers of the 10 teams got together to see the wildlife in Zimbabwe before the event, which will run from June 18 to July 9.
Teams will be playing for two spots at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held in India. This means that the two winners will be guaranteed to play nine games at the world showpiece for ODI cricket.
When the qualifier starts tomorrow, the players will be the main draw. However, the captains were very interested in the official photo shoot at the Wild is Life sanctuary. The sanctuary is a home for orphaned animals like elephants, giraffes, and lions. The goal of the sanctuary is to get these animals ready to live in the wild again.
As Group A starts, cricket will once again be the main event. When hosts Zimbabwe play Nepal at Harare Sports Club, there will likely be a full house. Also on the first day of games, at Takashinga, the two-time winners, the West Indies, play their neighbors, the United States. All games start at 9:00 a.m. local time.
The Netherlands are the last team in Group A. They will play their first game against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, June 20.
In Group B, there is another team that has won the World Cup.
The 1996 winners, Sri Lanka, will play their first game against the United Arab Emirates in Bulawayo on Monday, June 19. Ireland, Oman, and Scotland are in Group B with Sri Lanka and UAE.
Each team has played two warm-up games, and the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe have all won both of them. The Netherlands and Nepal will also go into the group rounds having won their second game.
QUOTES FROM THE CAPTAINS
Zimbabwe Captain Craig Ervine said, “We’ve done a great job getting ready for the event. Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani, and Sean Williams are three really interesting cricket players to follow. It will be a great competition.”
Ireland’s captain, Andrew Balbirnie, said, “We’re really excited to play cricket in Zimbabwe. It’s a great place to play.” In January, we were here to play some ODIs and T20s. I played in this tournament in 2018, so I know how tough it is. We need to be at our best for a long time.”
Nepal’s captain, Rohit Paudel, said, “For the past few years, we’ve worked very hard to get ready for this tournament, and now we’re finally here.” We value this chance and want to take full advantage of it. We are all very excited to play against some good cricketing nations and are looking forward to the event.
Scott Edwards is the captain of the Netherlands team. He said, “I’m confident in the team we brought to Zimbabwe.” We were ready for these conditions, and our practice matches before the event went well. These World Cup qualifiers are always hard, but we think we can win this event with the style of cricket we play.
Oman’s captain, Zeeshan Maqsood, said, “We’ve been training well to get used to the weather and climate in Zimbabwe. We can’t wait to play some of the best cricket players in the world at this big game and make our country proud. The qualifiers is a great chance for us to promote cricket in Oman as well.”
Richie Berrington, the captain of Scotland, said, “The preparations in Harare have gone well, and we’re grateful for the hospitality so far.” We know that each game will have its own difficulties, but our team has a great mix of young and old players that will help us win the tournament.”
Dasun Shanaka is the captain of Sri Lanka. He said, “We are very confident that we will do well in the Qualifiers. We used the two warm-ups to get our boys used to playing matches, and the team is looking forward to the games that are coming up.” We also know that every team in this competition wants to win. This means that no opponent can be taken lightly, especially in a game as important as this one, and we know this.
Mohammad Waseem, the captain of the UAE team, said, “We are fully focused and committed to doing our best in the game. We know what we’re up against in terms of who they are and how much experience they have. Ali Naseer, Jawadullah, and Aayan Afzal Khan are all very talented young players, and I have no question that they will show off their skills and prove their worth to the team in these big games.
USA captain Monank Patel said, “It’s a big year for cricket in the US, starting with this Qualifier and moving up to the T20 World Cup, which we will co-host next year. We all feel good about our chances here in Zimbabwe, and we can’t wait to show the rest of the world what we can do. We can tell that this group is becoming something special, and this event is just what we need to take our cricket to the next level.
“We’ve been getting ready well,” said Shai Hope, captain of the West Indies. As a team, we are focused on how we think and how we do things. We have a lot of players who can make a difference, so any one of them could win a game for us at any point in the tournament.”
HOW A COMPETITION WORKS
The top three teams in each group will move on to the Super Six round. The bottom two teams in each group will play against each other to see who will finish seventh through tenth.
At the Super Six stage, the teams will play the three qualifiers from the other group. The two scores against teams from their own group will carry over from the group stage. The Super Six stage will start on June 29, and this will be the first time in this event that DRS will be used in every match.
After the Super Six stage, the top two teams will be able to book their tickets to India as the two qualifiers for the Cricket World Cup 2023.
They will also compete in the final on July 9 to see who will win the Qualifiers.