Astonishingly, the former World Cup winners West Indies and Sri Lanka are going to participate in the World Cup 2023 Qualifiers.
Out of 10 teams Oman, Nepal, Scotland, Zimbabwe, Netherlands, USA, UAE & Ireland are going to fight for the 2 spots along with West Indies and Sri Lanka as we can expect a lot of upsets.
The West Indies will prepare for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier with a three-game ODI series against the UAE in Sharjah at the start of next month.
UAE and West Indies are going to play a 3-match ODI series in Sharjah on June 5, 7 & 9. This series will serve as a stepping stone for the Qualifiers which are slated on 18th June in Zimbabwe. The Men in Maroon recently squared the ODI Series against South Africa by 1-1.
West Indies also played in the World Cup Qualifiers in 2018 and somehow made it to 2019 WC due to the DLS method else Scotland would have qualified. It would be interesting to see how the team fares under the leadership of Shai Hope as the side would be tested.
Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) general secretary Mubashir Usmani was quite happy with the team’s performance and stated that the West Indies series would serve as great preparation for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018.
“In recent months, our team has produced some sensational performances in the ODI format which have helped raise UAE cricket’s profile. Our qualification for the tournament in Zimbabwe exemplifies our recent achievements. We want to ensure we provide the best possible preparation to our team and this series will most certainly help in achieving the goal,” said Mubashshir Usmani, the General Secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board.
Jimmy Adams, the director of cricket for CWI pointed out that this ODI Series will get valuable experience at the international level in foreign conditions. Jimmy Adams also stated that the side is quite excited to play the historic ODI Series against UAE.
“This is our first ever bilateral tour against the UAE and we are pleased to have agreed this historic three-match ODI series as it will provide a good opportunity for our players to get some preparation ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier,” said Jimmy Adams.
“It will also allow those players not going to Zimbabwe to get some valuable experience at the international level in foreign conditions, which would be hugely beneficial to their growth and development. We are happy to work closely with the ECB to arrange the three matches and we see this as a partnership which can grow in the future,” he added.
“It will also allow those players not going to Zimbabwe to get some valuable experience at the international level in foreign conditions, which would be hugely beneficial to their growth and development. We are happy to work closely with the ECB to arrange the three matches and we see this as a partnership which can grow in the future,” he added.
All three fixtures will take place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, with both teams then flying to Zimbabwe for the start of the qualifying tournament from June 18.
Schedule:
June 5 – UAE vs West Indies, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE
June 7 – UAE vs West Indies, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE
June 9 – UAE vs West Indies, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE