The United States of America (USA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have progressed to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier after finishing in the top two positions of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff.
During the six-team tournament, USA secured four wins from five matches, ahead of the UAE on head-to-head, who notched up a final-day win over Jersey to level the USA on points.
Hosts Namibia and Canada bagged three wins each from their five fixtures.
Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus bagged the award for Player of the Tournament, with 279 runs in five games at an average of 69.75. USA’s Ali Khan was the top wicket-taker with 16 wickets at an average of 12.37.
It must be noted that the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will take place in India later this year.
“It's a great feeling to be able to progress to the Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, even though we see this as a big accomplishment for USA Cricket, we the players also know that it's going to require lots of improvements for us to compete with the bigger teams. The players and support staff has worked tirelessly prior and during this event, and the hard work paid off. As I said prior to the play-offs, we have an opportunity to play in two World Cups in less than twelve months, and this group continues to believe and work towards that goal,” USA captain Monank Patel said.
Meanwhile, UAE captain Mohammad Waseem said: “We are absolutely delighted to confirm our spot for the qualifiers in Zimbabwe. Heading into the tournament in Namibia, we had a clear objective of delivering our best and playing positive and fearless cricket. I want to thank the players and our entire support staff for their untiring efforts that have resulted in our success.
“Our batters have been exceptional for us recently and the bowlers and fielders have backed them up really well. The entire team needs to perform at the same level and display the same commitment and passion for us to excel in Zimbabwe.”
USA and UAE will compete with eight other teams in Zimbabwe, between June 18 to July 9, for the remaining two places in the mega event.