T20 World Cup qualifiers for Group B
Eight teams are competing for two spots in the final two spots in the first round of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. The second half of the split T20 Global Qualifier, which concludes the final stage of qualifying, will begin today at Bulawayo. In addition to the host Zimbabwe.
Teams fighting for the spot
- United States of America
- Singapore
- Jersey
- Netherlands
- Papua New Guinea
- Hong Kong
- Uganda
- Zimbabwe
The Twenty matches will be played over the course of a week to determine who will play in the preliminary round of the World Cup alongside the West Indies, Scotland, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Namibia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Due to scheduling and financial restrictions, the more extensive and high-profile tournaments have been reduced to two much less expensive and less noticeable eight-team tournaments. The first of these tournaments was held in Muscat earlier this year, where the UAE and Ireland narrowly defeated Oman and Nepal to earn their spots. The announcement made last month that qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup will be decided completely at the regional level received even less attention, so this week’s action in Bulawayo will likely be the final Global Qualifier for some time.
What’s on the line
With the UAE and Ireland securing their spots at Qualifier A in Oman and Namibia and Scotland securing direct qualifying by making the Super 12 at the 2018 World Cup, there are just two spots left in the “First Round” preparatory stage of the 2022 event. The champions of this competition will compete in Group B, which will be held in Geelong, alongside the West Indies, Scotland, and Ireland, while the runners-up will compete in Group A, which will take place in Hobart and feature Sri Lanka, Namibia, and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to the main event, the top two teams from each group will advance to the Super 12s after playing one round of play.
The Structure
The new condensed structure is fairly competitive, in contrast to the extensive 14-team qualifiers of previous cycles, where a protracted group round led to seeded play-offs that gave teams multiple chances to qualify. The eight teams are divided into two groups: Group A includes the hosts, the USA, Singapore, and Jersey; Group B includes the Netherlands, PNG, Hong Kong, and Uganda. The victor of Group A will play the runner-up from Group B, and vice versa, in the crossover semifinals, which will follow each group’s single round-robin of play.
Because of this, these semifinals effectively serve as direct qualification elimination rounds, with the final acting more as a conclusion. The structure leaves absolutely no room for error, and one loss is all it takes for a team to have its ambitions dashed, as was the case for unfortunate Nepal in the competition in Muscat. On the other hand, a team may, with a little luck, advance with as little as two victories, according to a system that is somewhat more arbitrary than the more complex framework of the 2019 competition.
A Group
- Zimbabwe
- United States of America
- Jersey
- Singapore
Probable players for Team Zimbabwe
Tendai Chatara, Regis Chakabva, Milton Shumba, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Sean Williams, Innocent Kaia, Wesley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Craig Ervine (c), Ryan Burl, Clive Madande (wk), Luke Jongwe, Sikandar Raza, and Ryan Burl are all from Zimbabwe.
Probable players for Team United States of America (USA)
Monank Patel (c), Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Gajanand Singh, Marty Kain, Nisarg Patel, Aaron Jones, Cameron Stevenson, Rusty Theron, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Yasir Mohammed, and Vatsal Vaghela.
Probable players for Team Jersey
Jake Dunford, Elliot Miles, Rhys Palmer, Asa Tribe, Jonty Jenner, Ben Stevens, Zak Tribe, Ben Ward, Daniel Birrell, Dominic Blampied, Harrison Carlyon, and Ben Stevens (captain).
Probable players for Team Singapore
Akshay Puri, Neil Karnik, Navin Param, Manpreet Singh, Anantha Krishna, Aritra Dutta, Aman Desai (wk), Janak Prakash, Aryaman Sunil, Vinoth Baskaran, Amjad Mahboob (c), Rohan Rangarajan, Surendran Chandramohan, Rezza Gaznavi,
B Group
- Netherland
- Papua New Guinea (PNG)
- Uganda
- Hong Kong
Probable players for Team Netherland
Netherlands: Tim Pringle, Shariz Ahmad, Philippe Boissevain, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Brandon Glover, Stephan Myburgh, Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Tom Cooper, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Tim Pringle, Shariz Ahmad, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru.
Probable players for Team Papue New Guinea (PNG)
Lega Siaka, Tony Ura, Charles Amini Jr., Riley Hekure, Sese Bau, Chad Soper, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Hila Vare, Damien Ravu, Alei Nao, Kabua Vagi Morea, and Simon Atai are some of the players for Papua New Guinea.
Probable players for Team Uganda
Brian Masaba (captain), Simon Ssesazi, Roger Mukasa, Fred Achelam, Frank Akankwasa, Ronak Patel, Dinesh Nakrani, Frank Nsubuga, Riazat Ali Shah, Henry Ssenyondo, Kenneth Waiswa, Cosmas Kyewuta, and Juma Miyagi are the players from Uganda.
Probable players for Team Hong Kong
Nizakat Khan (captain), Ayush Shukla, Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Shahid Wasif, Adit Gorawara, Aftab Hussain, Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Khan, Ghazanfar Muhammad, Haroon Arshad, Waheed Mohammad, Yasim Murtaza, and Zeeshan Ali are some of the individuals from Hong Kong.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B match schedule
11 July – Zimbabwe v Singapore 09h00, Queens Sports Club
11 July – Jersey v USA, 09h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
11 July – Netherlands v PNG, 13h00, Queens Sports Club
11 July – Hong Kong v Uganda, 13h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
12 July – Zimbabwe v Jersey, 09h00, Queens Sports Club
12 July – Singapore v USA, 09h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
12 July – Netherlands v Hong Kong, 13h00, Queens Sports Club
12 July – PNG v Uganda , 13h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
14 July – Netherlands v Uganda, 09h00, Queens Sports Club
14 July – PNG v Hong Kong, 09h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
14 July – Zimbabwe v USA, 13h00, Queens Sports Club
14 July- Singapore v Jersey, 13h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
15 July – A3 v B4, 09h00, Queens Sports Club
15 July – B3 v A4, 09:00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
15 July – Semi Final 1 (A1 v B2), 09h00, Queens Sports Club
15 July – Semi Final 2 (B2 v A1), 13h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
17 July – 5th/6th Place play-off, 09h00, Queens Sports Club
17 July – 7th/8th Place play-off, 09h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club
17 July – Final, 13h00, Queens Sports Club
17 July – 3rd/4th Place play-off, 13h00, Bulawayo Athletic Club