The 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier was the 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which took place in June and July 2023 in Zimbabwe. It was the culmination of the 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification process and decided the final two participants for the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.
In July 2020, Zimbabwe announced their intention to host the qualifier. They had hosted the previous qualification tournament in March 2018. In December 2020, Zimbabwe were confirmed as the tournament hosts.
A fire occurred at the Harare Sports Club on 20 June 2023 behind the southwest grandstand, but no damage took place, and this did not affect the scheduling. The two finalists, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, claimed the last two places at the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Sri Lanka won the tournament, beating the Netherlands by 128 runs in a one-sided final.
Teams and qualification
The tournament featured ten teams; the bottom five teams from the 2020–23 World Cup Super League, the top three teams from the 2019–23 Cricket World Cup League 2, and the top two teams from the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off.
All matches in the qualifier tournament were One Day International (ODI) status. The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that DRS would be used in the tournament, but only for matches in the Super Six stage and onwards. This was the first time the system was used in the Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.
Implications for future competition
The top two sides from this qualifier will be awarded a spot in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Originally, it was intended that the top-ranked team in the CWC League 2 (Scotland) could be promoted to the next Super League at the expense of the 13th ranked Super League team (Netherlands); but only if the League 2 winner finished as the higher of the two in this tournament. The team ranked lower would then have played in the next edition of League 2. However, in November 2021, the ICC announced that there would not be a second edition of the Super League.
Venues
Squads
The following squads were named ahead of the tournament:
On June 8, Gudakesh Motie was ruled out of the tournament due to a lower back injury and was replaced in West Indies' squad by Johnson Charles. Sri Lanka added Sahan Arachchige, Dilshan Madushanka and Dunith Wellalage as standby players to their squad during the group stage of the tournament. Before the Super Six stage of the tournament, Nyasha Mayavo was added to Zimbabwe's squad to replace the injured Clive Madande. Yannic Cariah was also ruled out of the tournament after the group stages, and Kevin Sinclair replaced in West Indies' squad. Dilshan Madushanka was later added to Sri Lanka's main squad after an injury ruled out Dushmantha Chameera. Lahiru Kumara too was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament during the Super Six stage, and Sahan Arachchige was added to Sri Lanka's main squad to replace him.
Warm-up matches
Ten non-ODI warm-up matches were played on 13 June and 15 June 2023.
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was announced on 23 May 2023, with Group A was played in Harare and Group B in Bulawayo. The top three teams in each group advanced to the Super Six.
Group A
Points table
Fixtures
Group B
Points table
Fixtures
Play-offs
Bracket
Play-off semi-finals
7th place play-off
9th place play-off
Super Six
Teams that advance to the Super Six played three further matches against the qualifiers from the other group, with the two results against teams from their own group carrying forward from the group stage. Teams also carried forward their seeding positions from the first stage to determine the fixtures for the Super Six.
Points table
Fixtures
Final
Final standings
Team of the tournament
The ICC named the following players in the team of the tournament:
- Pathum Nissanka
- Vikramjit Singh
- Brandon McMullen
- Sean Williams
- Bas de Leede
- Sikandar Raza
- Scott Edwards (c, wk)
- Wanindu Hasaranga
- Maheesh Theekshana
- Chris Sole
- Richard Ngarava
See also
- 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship
- 2023 Cricket World Cup
- 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League
- 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2
- 2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League
- 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off
- 2027 Cricket World Cup
References
External links
- Series Home at ESPNcricinfo
